BRS, BSP team up in Telangana for Lok Sabha elections

KCR said, Telangana BSP president had approached him with the proposal after getting approval from BSP chief Mayawati

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the main opposition party in Telangana, on Tuesday announced forging an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state.

BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. (ANI)

A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting between BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao with BSP Telangana unit president and retired IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar.

Speaking to reporters, KCR said, Kumar had approached him with the proposal after getting approval from BSP chief Mayawati and both the parties had agreed in principle to enter into an alliance.

“Both the BRS and BSP share common ideologies and goals. BRS implemented several welfare schemes for the weaker sections, including Dalit Bandhu, residential welfare schools and others in Telangana. We will finalise the issues pertaining to seat sharing after I speak to Mayawati, my old acquaintance,” he said.

Kumar said he had taken the decision to ally with the BRS only to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was trying to destroy the secular fabric of the nation and even conspiring to overrule the Constitutional provisions for the weaker sections.

He felt that even the Congress was proving to be anti-Dalit in Telangana.

“In order to safeguard Telangana from these two political parties, we have decided to work with the BRS in the coming elections. KCR has been a strong secular voice and our alliance is aimed to protect the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of Telangana,” he said.

BRS senior leaders T Harish Rao, Vemula Prashanth Reddy, J Santosh Kumar, Balka Suman, MLC Deshapathi Srinivas and others were present at the meeting.

A BRS leader familiar with the development said Kumar is likely to contest from Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency on behalf of the alliance. Sitting BRS parliamentarian from Nagarkurnool constituency Pothuganti Ramulu resigned from the party and joined hands with the BJP, which declared his son Pothuganti Bharat as the MP candidate a couple of days ago.