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Stating that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is a national party, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said Tuesday that his party is neither Congress-A team nor BJP-B team.
The BRS chief was addressing a public meeting at Pandharpur in western Maharashtra after visiting the Pandharpur temple.
KCR had arrived in Maharashtra’s Solapur district for a two-day pilgrimage to Pandharpur on Monday accompanied by his cabinet colleagues, elected members and office bearers of the party.
“Why are established political parties in Maharashtra both ruling and opposition so worried about our visit to Pandharpur. We have just started our political activities in Maharashtra, a few months ago. But I can sense all political parties are worried,” he said.
“The BRS is neither Congress-A nor BJP-B team… We are a party of and for farmers. The BRS is in a mission to transform India through upliftment of 70 to 80 crore farmers across country,” KCR added.
Claiming that BRS is a national party, he explained: “The BRS is not a political party which is restricted to states of Telangana or Maharashtra. We are working in several states.”
The Western Maharashtra is the traditional bastion of Congress and NCP. However, since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. both parties have suffered setbacks.
Out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Western Maharashtra has 11 seats. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had won five seats, followed by Shiv Sena ( undivided) three, NCP three and Congress zero.
The western Maharashtra region has 70 Assembly seats and in the 2019 polls NCP won 27 seats, BJP 20, Congress 12, Shiv Sena (undivided) five, and others six.
Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, BRS is using the farmer plank to find a ground in Western Maharashtra.
The party has already opened its office in Nagpur and plans to set up offices at Sambhajinagar, Pune and Mumbai soon.
During his address, Telangana CM said, “BRS was on mission to transform Bharat. The farmers should unite to make abki bar, kisan sarkar a reality. If farmers join hands they can form a government and bring pro-farmer reforms”.
“In Telangana, we have given farmers free electricity and water… The entire crops of farmers are procured by the state government. The money is directly credited to farmers’ bank accounts,” he said.
Earlier in the day, NCP’s Pandharpur leader Bhagirath Bhalke formally joined BRS in the presence of KCR.
“Bhagirath Bhalke’s decision to join BRS has opened doors for the party in Western Maharashtra,” he added.
Bhagirat is the son of late NCP ( MLA) Bharat Bhalke.
“I have taken the decision to join BRS as it truly represents people’s aspirations. My father late Bharat Bhalke had always worked for people. After his demise, those who were close to him felt NCP was not doing enough to address the concerns. There was no sense of belonging,” Bhagirath said.
After Pandharpur temple visit, KCR’s team has planned visit to Tulzapur temple in Dharashiv.
Meanwhile, the opposition leaders and the ruling BJP claimed that BRS will not make any impact in the state.
NCP leader Jitendra Awhad said, ” The NCP truly represents dalits, tribals, OBCs, farmers in Maharashtra. The BRS is not going to make any impact on NCP”.
Congress state chief Nana Patole said, “BRS is the B team of BJP. It is being promoted to divide the secular vote bank. But it will fail as people know the truth.”
BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, they are not worried about the entry of BRS in Maharashtra.
“Under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis people have seen good governance,” he said.
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