Telangana: BJP’s over reliance on central schemes proving counter productive

The BJP MLAs also found that the people trust Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao more than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre

Hyderabad: The BJP leadership’s over reliance on Central schemes during outreach programmes being organised by the party State unit in assembly constituencies is proving counter productive as voters are not able to connect with those and do not see any benefit for them from such schemes.

The fact came to light during a recent tour of BJP legislators from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Goa and Puducherry, to assembly constituencies in the State. Sources in the party said the MLAs during their interaction with people of the constituencies found that most people did not understand the difference between State and Central government schemes and that they had more faith in welfare schemes being implemented by the State government than the Centre.

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The BJP MLAs also found that the people trust Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao more than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.

In fact, BJP’s efforts to sell schemes of the Central government to the people of the State were getting very poor response, especially in constituencies reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes. With the BRS government implementing several welfare schemes, especially Dalit Bandhu and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Special Development Fund for these communities, it has become very difficult to attract them towards the BJP, said the source.

Though the BJP State leaders have been highlighting the achievements and various schemes in Telangana being undertaken by the central government under Modi since January, the party has so far not succeeded in gaining any kind of political advantage due to it.

The BJP MLAs from Karnataka were reportedly heard saying that the party’s over-reliance on central schemes and not focusing on the State government’s achievements during Karnataka polls, which went to polls in May, was the main reason for the party’s defeat. The Karnataka leaders opined that if the similar strategy was used in Telangana, the party would meet the same fate as in Karnataka.

With BJP’s Northern State poll strategy of beneficiary-oriented approach to connect with voters not working in Telangana, the State leaders are in a dilemma. The problem of the State BJP is that it does not have a single mass leader who could be made the face of the party for the forthcoming assembly polls. They are purely depending on Modi, which at the same time is not working in Telangana as a majority of the people are in favour of electing Chandrashekar Rao for the third consecutive term.