Having tried every political party, people of Telangana are looking for a change and in tune with people’s mood, BJP is set to go it alone in 2019 elections, asserted State BJP president K. Laxman here on Friday.
“Our motto is grow alone, go alone as announced by our party president Amit Shah here recently. Yet we are open to work with not only those from Telugu Desam but any other party or civil society groups to fight for people’s issues,” he clarified at the Meet the Press organised at the Press Club.
The BJP’s focus was now on strengthening the party socially and geographically and building organisational structure from village-level to fight in the next elections. The party would field candidates in 119 Assembly constituencies and more if the constituencies are increased, he said.
Voter mood
On positive response to AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi’s public meeting, Dr. Laxman said people had seen the 10-year performance of UPA and it lacked credibility. People were now looking for Modi’s leadership and other BJP-ruled States. Congress used minorities only as vote bank all these years. Muslims, however, realised the development agenda of Modi government and voted for BJP in many States like Assam and UP.
The TRS’s minority appeasement policy would also boomerang. MIM leaders themselves were sceptical that 12% reservation would come through as religion based reservations were in violation of the Constitution, he said.
Taking pot shots at the TRS government, Dr. Laxman said Telangana State was achieved three years ago as people wanted self-rule and self respect. But in the present Telangana, democracy and social justice had gone missing.
Mass leader
Asked that the BJP did not have a mass leader in the State to lead the party in the next elections, Dr. Laxman said they were mere illusions. “Ours is collective leadership. We don’t believe in single man or family-ruled politics as happening in Telangana and elsewhere. People were no longer willing to give power to one family,” he said.
On organisational set up, Dr. Laxman said they had 19 lakh membership in the State and polling booth committees in 13,000 polling booths and they would increase it to about 25,000 booth committees by June end. The party was mobilising different sections of people under ‘Palle Palle Ki BJP’. On attracting leaders into their party, he said they were more interested in key voters at grass roots at the village level as they could influence other families.
He dismissed controversy over cow protection as deliberate attempts to link it to religion while the government intention was to regulate cattle marketing and slaughter.
