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KCR plans to address two rallies next month to expand BRS in Maharashtra
Later, KCR would travel to Kolhapur to have darshan of Goddess Mahalakshmi at the famous temple and perform special prayers, before returning to Hyderabad
Hyderabad : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao is planning to address at least two more public rallies in Maharashtra in August, as part of his party’s plans to expand footprints in the neighbouring state, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, will travel to Wategaon village in Sangli district on August 1 to take part in the birth anniversary celebrations of noted Dalit social reformer and poet Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe, also known as Anna Bhau Sathe, a BRS functionary said.
“During his tour, KCR will interact with local political leaders and social activists in Sangli to explain to them the philosophy of the BRS and his plans to bring about a qualitative change in the country’s politics,” the functionary said, requesting anonymity.
Several Maharashtra leaders are expected to join the BRS on the same day, he said. From Sangli, KCR will travel to Kolhapur to visit Mahalakshmi temple, where he will perform special prayers, before returning to Hyderabad.
At present, the BRS is focusing more on the preparation for crucial assembly elections in Telangana scheduled for later this year.
“Before visiting Sangli, the chief minister was earlier planning to address a big public rally at Sholapur on July 30. However, in view of heavy rains, he deferred the plan,” the BRS leader said.
The party is planning to hold big rallies in the subsequent weeks — one at Pune and another at Sholapur — as part of its plan to expand its presence in Maharashtra.
“The chief minister is of the view that there is definitely a space for the BRS to make its presence felt in Maharashtra, due to a split in two major parties — the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena — and believes the BRS can fill the vacuum,” the functionary added.
At the moment, KCR is concentrating on strengthening the organisational network in Maharashtra. The party has established nine committees, including for women, farmers, youth and trade unions, in the neighbouring state.
An official release from the chief minister’s office last week said there has been “tremendous response” to the BRS from various sections of people in Maharashtra, including farmers, professionals and the weaker sections. “The BRS membership drive is getting good response in the villages,” it said.
As part of his party’s plan to expand its footprints, KCR has so far addressed five rallies in Maharashtra, the last being at Solapur on June 27. He has also held rallies at Bhokar of Nanded on February 5, at Kandhar in Loha on March 26, at Aurangabad on April 24 and at Nanded on May 19.
According to party leaders, the BRS has established its network at the grassroots level in 15 districts, covering 27 of the total 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, with an enrolment of nearly 1.5 million members.
The BRS chief is also planning to organise training camps for active members, party leaders said. Several senior leaders besides hundreds of former sarpanches and zilla parishad members have already joined the BRS in Maharashtra. Prominent among them are late NCP MLA Bharat Bhalke’s son Bhagirath Bhalke, who unsuccessfully contested the Pandharpur bypoll on an NCP ticket in 2021. Former NCP Chandrapur district unit president Priyadarshan Ajay Ingle, district unit vice-president Nikhil Jagdish Duryodhan, Ghugus city unit president Dilip Oshanna Pittalwar, youth wing secretary Hemant Singh Thakur, as well as minority cell secretary Arif Azmi and Thane district vice-president Maqsood Khan have also joined the KCR-led party.
“By next assembly elections scheduled for October-November 2024, KCR wants the BRS to emerge as a powerful political force in Maharashtra,” the BRS leader quoted above said.
