Of the 119 assembly constituencies in the state of Telangana, the Bharatiya JAnata Party (BJP) is targeting winning just 30 to 40 seats. But, the impact the BJP wants to create in the state is to unseat the current Chief Minister and BRS government and come to power. Why and how does the saffron party work its way from here?
Well, for starters, the BJP has been betting big on regional leaders in Telangana ahead of the 2023 state assembly elections. The party is trying to expand its base in the state and had been focusing on attracting leaders from other parties who had a strong presence in their respective regions.
One of the ways the BJP is doing this is by promising them key positions and greater representation in the party. For instance: Konda Visveshwar Reddy has moved from the Congress to the BJP recently. Same with how the Munugode Bypoll proved that BJP has the Reddy brothers from Nalgonda (who were loyalties of the Congress).
The BJP leadership had also been engaging with leaders from smaller parties and groups who could help the party consolidate its position in the state. Additionally, the BJP had been trying to mobilize support among various social and economic groups in Telangana, including farmers, youth, and Dalits.
The party had been highlighting issues such as the alleged corruption of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) or BRS government and the lack of development in certain regions of the state. The BJP had also been using social media and digital platforms to reach out to voters and promote its message.
It has been running aggressive social media campaigns targeting the TRS government and its policies, and has been using WhatsApp and other messaging apps to reach out to voters directly. So, with just 30-40 seats, how will BJP actually win an election? Well, the party plans to scrap many bigwigs from the TRS and Congress after they win their seats. That way, the saffron party plans to build its strength just when it needs to prove to the Governor (After the elections) that it can form the government in the state.
With such clever behind-the-scenes planning taking place in the BJP, the BRS needs to be double aware of who will defect from that party in the final moment and let the BRS High Command down. This is also a sign of caution on what kind of government will the BJP bring to the state?
Overall, the BJP’s strategy in Telangana is centered around building a broad-based coalition of support that could challenge the dominant TRS party in the state and eventually, form the government. Whether this strategy will be successful or not, remains to be seen.
