Ahead of Assembly polls, Telangana politics now revolves around BCs

The ruling BRS has a strong base among the BC community due to its welfare and development schemes.

Hyderabad: As the Telangana Assembly elections draw closer, all major political parties in the State are making concerted efforts to garner support from the Backward Classes (BC). The outcome of the Assembly elections in Telangana is likely to depend on the support of the BC community who form a formidable 56 percent of the State population.

The ruling BRS has a strong base among the BC community due to its welfare and development schemes. However, the Congress and BJP are both making strong pitches to gain support of the community.

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In the race to secure BC votes, the BRS has devised a strategy to reach out to this crucial group. The move comes amid attempts by rival parties, such as the BJP and Congress, to gain traction among the BC community.

The BRS has been strategically reaching out to various communities ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, with numerous welfare and development schemes being implemented for them.

The party’s BC leaders recently convened a meeting at the residence of Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav to devise plans for BC-focused meetings. These meetings aim to highlight the welfare measures rolled out by the State government for the BC community.

Further, they intend to organise a grand “BC Garjana” event to showcase Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao‘s support for the BCs. They are planning to hold Atma Gaurava Sabhas in all district headquarters and also take out a parade with the party’s BC leaders.

They will explain about various schemes designed to benefit BC castes, such as providing financial aid to economically backward students, distributing sheep, offering Kalyana Lakshmi support, and facilitating loans through the BC Development Corporation.

The BRS has a head start in the race against the Opposition parties, offering a cash benefit of Rs 1 lakh to BCs for purchasing tools required for their traditional occupations. The Chief Minister has already allocated Rs.400 crore for the purpose, with more than 5.28 lakh BCs applying for financial assistance. The majority of beneficiaries from this scheme will come from the Most Backward Classes (MBCs), including communities like Rajakas, Nayi Brahmins, Kummari, and Kamsali.

Meanwhile, both the Congress and the BJP too are devising strategies to secure the support of the BCs, in the upcoming elections. The Congress is exploring various promises and initiatives to attract BC voters to its side.

One proposal under consideration is allocating 50 percent of tickets to BC candidates for the upcoming election. Additionally, the party is also planning to propose increasing reservations for BCs to 40 percent.

To further connect with the BC electorate, the Congress is also planning to hold meetings with BC leaders and launch a campaign to highlight the party’s commitment to the welfare of the BC community.

It aims to revive the essence of the Telangana movement and highlight how its BC leaders fought for formation of the State. They plan to leverage campaign videos that showcase how Congress MPs played a significant role in fighting for Telangana State formation.

On the other hand, the BJP made a BC Declaration promising a budget allocation for the BC community commensurate with their population. The party has also assured to grant statutory status to the BC Commission and give priority to the BCs in appointments to the nominated posts.

The BJP leaders also announced to organise a ‘BC Garjana’ meeting last month to showcase their popularity among the BC communities, but failed to organise it. However, the BJP’s plans have been hampered by internal squabbles and the removal of Bandi Sanjay, a BC (Munnuru Kapu) leader as president of the Telangana BJP to be replaced by G Kishan Reddy.