BJP Getting Ready to test its OBC Gambit in Telangana

In fact, in order to send a message that it was committed to the cause of OBC communities, the party is planning to allocate about 15 or 16 seats to OBC in the first list of 38 candidates scheduled to be announced on October 15.

Hyderabad: With the BJP realizing that it did not stand a chance to come to power in Telangana, it is now getting ready to test its Other Backward Classes(OBC) gambit in the upcoming polls to the State assembly. The BJP leadership has reportedly in principle taken a decision to allot over 40 per cent seats to OBC candidates in the State.

In fact, in order to send a message that it was committed to the cause of OBC communities, the party is planning to allocate about 15 or 16 seats to OBC in the first list of 38 candidates scheduled to be announced on October 15. The party is also planning to include a lot of benefits for OBC in its poll manifesto .

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Out of the total 119 assembly seats in the State, 19 have been reserved for Scheduled Castes, 12 for Scheduled Tribes, and the remaining 88 are general seats. Sources in the party said in order to attract the votes of OBC communities, the party leadership has taken a decision to allocate more than 40 seats out of the 88 general seats to OBCs.

Since the OBCs constitute over 50 per cent of the population, the BJP leadership hopes that the community would support it if it gave more tickets to OBC candidates. The party leadership’s decision to allocate a large number of seats to OBC candidates had paid dividends in the Hindi heartland and hence it was trying to adopt the same formula in Telangana too.

The BJP high command has reportedly directed State leaders to take up outreach programmes to focus on BCs issues and to tell people how the Saffron party was giving priorities to OBCs and the schemes and programmes being formulated by the Modi government for their upliftment.

Sources said the party leaders have been asked to cite the example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who belongs to the OBC community, was allowed to occupy the top post by the BJP leadership during the poll campaign. They were also asked to highlight how OBC leaders like Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, and others were given top positions by the party.

The party functionaries have been asked to highlight how senior OBC leader K Laxman was made the national president of BJP OBC Morcha and Rajya Sabha Member. The party was also planning to involve OBC leaders like Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay, BJP State election management committee chairman Eatala Rajender and Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind in seeking the support of the OBC communities.