BRS goes ahead with expansion plans, takes to publicising its pro-farmer schemes

Party unnerved by adverse political developments; to hold public meet at Kandhar in Maharashtra on March 26

Unnerved by the politically adverse developments such as leak of TSPSC question papers and questioning of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K. Kavitha, daughter of party president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi Excise Policy case, the party leadership is going ahead with its expansion plans beginning from neighbouring Maharashtra.

After holding its first public meeting outside Telangana, following the decision to go national by rechristening the party from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to BRS, at Nanded in Maharashtra on February 5 the party leadership has planned another such meeting at Kandhar in Nanded district on March 26. “We are focusing on Maharashtra, particularly in districts bordering with Telangana, as we are of the hope that the feel good factor on the pro-farmer programmes being implemented here will have positive impact on people there,” a senior BRS leader said.

The BRS would be testing waters soon in Maharashtra where some local bodies elections are due. According to the party leaders elections to four municipal corporations there are due by December 2023 and for 23 municipal councils and nagar panchayats between May 2023 and April 2024. Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Yavatmal and Nanded districts are bordering with Telangana and migrants from Telangana are also concentrated in Solapur, Mumbai (Suburban and City), Thane districts.

To drive home the BRS’ pro-farmer policies such as providing 24×7 free power supply to agricultural pump-sets, extending investment support (grant) to all landholding farmers at ₹5,000 per acre for two crop seasons a year irrespective of the extent of landholding, implementation of life insurance cover of ₹5 lakh to every landholding farmer aged up to 59 years irrespective of the cause of death and making available quality inputs such as seed and fertilizer in time, the party has taken to digital media (video screen) to propagate the Telangana model.

Ahead of the Kandhar public meeting the BRS leadership has deployed 16 publicity vehicles fitted with large video screens to go round about 1,600 villages in the area to publicise the pro-farmer initiatives in Telangana. “As such the party chief has already coined the slogan of ‘ab ki bar kisan sarkar’ at the Nanded public meeting to expand the party outside Telangana,” Armoor MLA A. Jeevan Reddy who is supervising the arrangements at Kandhar said.

Revival of chain-link tank system and minor irrigation tanks in a mission mode and executing Kaleshwaram project to make Telangana as one of the top rice bowls of the country would also be publicised to create a positive approach towards the party, party leaders said adding that a small section of farmers from neighbouring villages of Maharashtra had purchased small pieces of land in Telangana, had borewells on that land and were drawing water in Telangana availing the free power here and supplying it to their fields in Maharashtra using pipes.