K Chandrashekar Rao, the chief minister of Telangana and head of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, is preparing a number of public outreach initiatives in the neighboring state of Maharashtra over the coming weeks, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Prior to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, KCR intends to deepen the party’s presence in Maharashtra’s rural regions and enhance the party’s organizational network, according to a top BRS official.
The BRS president believes that the party should be ready to handle the situation if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led government at the federal level decides to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and a few other state assemblies early in the following year. The BRS functionary spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the party’s position.
Telangana’s assembly elections, which are set to take place in December this year alongside those of four other states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram — may be delayed by a few months and held alongside those of a few other assemblies, such as Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, along with the Lok Sabha sometime in February or March, according to BRS working president and Telangana minister of information technology KT Rama Rao.
“We are ready for any situation in which there are concurrent elections. While we are certain to win Telangana’s third consecutive term in office, we also want to win a sizable number of MP seats in Maharashtra. Hence the readiness, according to BRS spokeswoman Dasoju Sravan.
KCR intends to ramp up the activities once the extraordinary session of Parliament ends on September 23. Depending on what happens in Parliament, he may next turn his attention to Maharashtra. After the parliament session, Sravan speculated that the simultaneous elections may be clarified.
Before the publication of the election timetable, KCR is preparing to host a series of 30 public forums throughout Maharashtra, covering the bulk of the districts, according to another BRS senior aware with the issue.
The party leader, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: “Simultaneously, the BRS will intensify the membership drive, appoint party committees in every district, and expand the organizational network across the state to face the Lok Sabha elections.”
He claims that the BRS has already developed a grassroots network in 15 districts, spanning 27 of Maharashtra’s total 48 Lok Sabha seats, with a membership of about 1.5 million.
In Maharashtra, the BRS has already attracted a number of prominent officials, including several former parliamentarians and legislators, along with hundreds of sarpanches and zilla parishad members.
KCR has already spoken at six rallies in Maharashtra, with the most recent taking place in Sangli on August 1. His first rally took place on February 5 at Bhokar, Nanded. His second rally took place in Kandhar-Loha on March 26, third in Aurangabad on April 24, fourth in Nanded town once again on May 19, and sixth in Solapur on June 27.
