With the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) first public meeting in Khammam on Wednesday, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao aims to step on to the national platform while not losing sight of the local pressure points for the party.

The ruling BRS has chosen Khammam town, bordering Andhra Pradesh, to build a significant electoral presence in the neighbouring Telugu State, as part of its goal to emerge as a national political force.

Once considered a stronghold of Communists and later the Congress, Khammam is a sleepy town, about 200 km from the state capital. Today, it has become the political nerve centre with major political parties holding rallies.

Ahead of the polls, KCR coined a new slogan in front of his party leaders — "Ab ki baar, kisaan sarkar."

The meet will see Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and CPI’s D Raja sharing the dais with Rao. It is said to highlight opposition unity ahead of the Telangana assembly election this year.

Also read: Assembly Elections 2023 | A look at party vote share in nine states going to polls

Addressing the mega rally, CM Vijayan called out the government's recent efforts to push Hindi as the national language while "sidelining all our native languages."

"Imposing Hindi by doing away with our mother tongues will affect the integrity of the nation,” Vijayan said.

Yadav also spoke at the rally, claiming that the Centre was "creating obstacles" for states and "conspiring against opposition leaders." He accused the Modi administration of mimicking schemes first launched by the KCR-led Telangana government.

The group visited Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri near Hyderabad on Wednesday, ahead of the ruling BRS public meeting in Khammam. They offered their prayers at the temple but were not able to stay for darshan, officials said.

Live: Visit of CM Sri KCR and Chief Ministers of 3 States to Yadadri Sri Laxmi Narasimha Swamy Temple https://t.co/BVrLWjKiTP

— Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) January 18, 2023

Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy, who has been supporting Rao's foray into national politics, could not attend the BRS meet, due to his ongoing Pancharatna Rath Yatra (statewide tour) in Karnataka, and the same has been communicated to Telangana, his office said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi party (before transforming into BRS) had secured only one seat out 10 in the undivided Khammam District which also has a considerable presence of Left parties. The Congress won seven seats while the Telugu Desam Party got two seats in 2018 polls. However, six of the Congress and two TDP members switched over to what is now the BRS.

Apparently, the ruling party is working towards building its base in Khammam, which would come in handy to take forward the work in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Also read: Bharat Rashtra Samiti: KCR training his sights higher, but enthusing the national voters is key

According to political analyst Telakapalli Ravi, Rao also needs to build a national image to take on the might of BJP such as Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda.

"We can call this an initial achievement. BRS’s working ground and stronghold is Telangana. So winning the next Assembly polls is the foremost task for the party. So this fillip will help it," Ravi told PTI.

Rao aims to bolster his national political outreach with the presence of these leaders. Rao will intensify his anti-BJP crusade from the Khammam meeting. Besides, he will also sound the poll bugle for the elections in the state, scheduled to be held at the end of this year, Professor K Nageshwar, former legislative council member and political analyst, said.

Interestingly, the BRS is facing serious internal dissension. Khammam strongman and former Lok Sabha member Srinivas Reddy is all set to leave the BRS to join the saffron party, he further said.

With agency inputs.

(Edited by : Ayushi Agarwal)

First Published:Jan 18, 2023 4:13 PM IST