BRS ahead of rivals in campaign with KTR, Harish jumping into action

HYDERABAD: The elections in Telangana are fast approaching and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is evidently well-prepared and is much ahead of the opposition in its endavour to come back to power for the third time in Telangana.

The poll bugle was sounded in early August when party president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) announced party tickets for 115 candididates in the 119-seat1 Assembly. It's been over a month and the opposition Congress and the BJP are still scrambling to find candidates for all the Assembly seats.

As if the announcement of candidates was not enough, the BRS then embarked on its campaign trail, further denting the opposition's prospects of connecting with the public as they grapple with the initial task of finding candidates to contest the ensuing polls.

While the BRS has the ground running with rallies, project launches and welfare scheme distributions, it's the strategic approach that distinguishes this campaign from the 2014 and 2018 elections.

What has become apparent, from the party activities in the last couple of weeks is that this both BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) and Finance and Health Minister Harish Rao being tasked to lead the initial bout of campaigns, before Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) hits the road.

KTR and Harish Rao have been tasked with the key responsibility of intertwining Government programmes and election campaigns; This not just ensures that the BRS Government has enough time to announce a slew of development activities before the ensuing Model Code of Conduct comes into effect but also gives enough time for the BRS to take a reality check of the situation on the ground.

While visiting districts, the two leaders are not just launching a slew of programmes but are also get a chance to ascertain the political situation by taking feedback from local leaders.

In the past few weeks, Harish Rao had participated in development programmes in Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam, while KTR visited Karimnagar, Rajanna Sircilla and Wanaparthy in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district.

During their visits, KTR and Harish Rao have been analysing the winning prospects of the BRS MLAs and candidates and have been addeessing any challenges being faced by the party.

After analysing the situation, KTR and Harish Rao have been relaying the information to their party chief, allowing KCR to make any political rectifications. In fact, KCR has tasked them to appease any disgruntled BRS leaders. All those leaders are now being promised by KTR and Harish Rao of plum posts after the elections.

By conducting these activities, the party has comfortably sprung up its 'Plan-B' in difficult constituencies, with the Malkajgiri constituency being a case in point. With Mynampally Hanumantha Rao's defection to Congress, the party is apparently going to finalise Marri Rajasekhar Reddy as its candidate for the constituency.

Manifesto in focus as KCR gets into action

With the party ironing out any differences, the 'Pink Party' boss is likely to enter the campaign trail from October 16. Judging by the speeches of KTR and Harish Rao, there is significant anticipation surrounding the BRS manifesto, set to be unveiled by KCR on that day. Party leaders have hinted that it will bring a pleasant surprise to various sections of society, particularly benefiting women, backward classes, and youth.