BJP vs Telangana: What will be discussed during the two-day nat’l executive meet?

National

The BJP has been deliberating its future objectives for the party for the past two days in Hyderabad. A jubilant BJP, which recently took power in Maharashtra following a Shiv Sena uprising, is eager to grow its influence in the south. It believes its chances are excellent in Telangana, where an aggressive CM KCR is attempting to keep the BJP and the Congress at bay.

Bharatiya Janata Party has turned its attention south to Telangana, where it wants to next increase its presence, once the dust in Maharashtra settles. After 18 years, the BJP is hosting its national executive session in Hyderabad, a move that shows the party’s determination to gain ground in the southern states where regional parties have historically held control.

Telangana is also the home state of Telangana Rashtra Samiti leader K Chandrashekhar Rao, a fierce critic of PM Narendra Modi who was once an ally outside the NDA. KCR has been attempting to navigate his ship toward a national position while also fighting back against the saffron tide in his state. KCR’s federal front proposals, which call for an alliance of opposition parties without Congress, have not yet taken flight.

If the NDA didn’t secure a majority in the general election of 2019, KCR was considering playing the role of kingmaker. But such plans were shelved in the wake of the Modi-led party’s resounding victory for a second time in a row. KCR met with notable non-BJP and non-Congress opposition leaders earlier this year. Political analysts theorised that he was building up a consensus for a common Presidential candidate from the opposition camp as well as testing the waters for a federal front once more prior to the general elections of 2024.

While the BJP meets for two days on Saturday and Sunday to discuss strategy, KCR will host joint presidential contender Yashwant Sinha and parade him through the capital on a TRS bike ride. While many other opposition groups have turned to the BJP’s Droupadi Murmu, who is poised to become India’s first tribal and second female president, he has remained steadfast in his support for Sinha.

BJP is working on a mission

As part of “Mission Telangana,” BJP president J.P. Nadda sent all party leaders and national officeholders, including Union ministers and MPs, to the state’s 119 assembly districts in advance of the crucial 2-day meeting. They were told to stay there for a whole day in order to get a sense of what the locals want.

As Hyderabad is the BJP’s primary emphasis, current MPs and union ministers have been assigned constituencies nearby. Ex-MPs and MLAs have been requested to disperse even more.

Naturally, the BJP will seek to improve on its outstanding showing in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections in 2020. With 48 of the 150 wards in the GHMC, the BJP managed to turn things around and finish second. 55 wards were gained by the TRS government, and 44 by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Just two seats were won by the Congress, which was in par with the results of the prior GHMC polls.