Hyderabad, May 13

The BJP in Telangana looks to up the ante against TRS government with Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit on Saturday.

Shah will address the public meeting at Tukkuguda in Rangareddy district near Hyderabad to mark the culmination of the second leg of state BJP president Bandi Sanjay's Praja Sangrama Yatra.

The saffron party leaders expect that the senior leader's visit and speech will act as morale booster and set the tone for the party's preparedness for Assembly elections, scheduled next year.

This is Amit Shah's first visit to Telangana after BJP won the by-election in Huzurabad in November last year and the first since Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao renewed his plans to play a key role in national politics by forging an alliance of anti-BJP parties.

Shah's visit also comes amid the continuing attacks by KCR and his son KTR on BJP-led government at the Centre for discrimination against Telangana and its failure on various fronts.

During the last few months, the TRS has mounted a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government over rising inflation, unemployment and incidents of communal violence in various parts of the country. On several occasions, KCR slammed the BJP for spreading communal hatred for its narrow political interests.

Amit Shah is likely to launch a counter-attack on TRS government and reiterate what BJP's national president J. P. Nadda claimed at the public meeting in Mahabubnagar last week. Nadda said people of Telangana want double-engine growth and the results of Dubbaka by-election in 2020 and Huzurabad in November last year reflect this.

BJP's state leaders hope that Shah will mount a scathing attack on TRS government for what they call undemocratic means being adopted to suppress the voice of BJP. The arrest of Bandi Sanjay and other leaders and suicide of a party worker in Khammam district may find a mention in his speech.

This is also Amit Shah's first visit to Telangana after a bitter war of words between the TRS and BJP over the paddy procurement issue.

Meanwhile, union minister for Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy on Friday visited Tukkuguda to review the arrangements for the public meeting.

Talking to reporters, Kishan Reddy alleged that KCR and KTR are making false propaganda against the Central government to hide their failures.

Kishan Reddy, who is a member of Parliament from Secunderabad, said KCR was trying to continue the family rule but people have understood this and the results of Lok Sabha elections and Dubbaka and Huzurabad by-elections reflect people's anger towards TRS.

Kishan Reddy said Amit Shah would speak on anti-incumbency, corruption and autocratic rule in Telangana

The saffron party is planning a massive show of strength by mobilising people in large numbers for the public meeting.

State BJP leaders expect that the meeting will boost the morale of the party and gear up the cadre for the next year's Assembly elections.

BJP's show of strength comes close on the heels of Congress party holding a massive public meeting in Warangal on May 6. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had addressed the meeting, which made a slew of promises for farmers.

Some Central ministers had also participated in the second leg of the padyatra launched on April 14 from Alampur in Jogulamba Gadwal district.

During the month-long foot march, Bandi Sanjay covered 385 km in five districts. He will pass through 105 villages in 10 Assembly constituencies.

Sanjay, who is also a member of Parliament from Karimnagar, walked 10-15 km every day to interact with people to know their problems.

The BJP leader alleged that there is corruption and family rule in the state and all sections of people, including youth, employees and farmers, are not happy.

The first phase of the yatra had started in Hyderabad in August 2021. It lasted for 36 days covering 19 Assembly constituencies and half a dozen Parliamentary constituencies in eight districts.

Telangana BJP looks to up the ante with Amit Shah's visit