BRS eyes Khammam comeback

Hyderabad: The main opposition BRS has shifted its focus to Khammam district, aiming to win a majority of seats in future elections. Senior party leaders are frequently visiting the district to galvanise the party cadre well in advance. Leaders including working president KTR and BRLP Deputy leader T Harish Rao have visited on several occasions, targeting three local ministers over government policies.

Whilst BRS was in power for two terms in Telangana, Khammam eluded the party, yielding only one MLA seat on both occasions. BRS won one seat in 2014, improved strength via defections, but was again restricted to a single seat in 2018. The party targeted a majority in 2023 but secured only lone MLA Tellam Venkat Rao, who subsequently joined the ruling Congress, leaving BRS with zero representation.

According to party sources, KTR has taken direct responsibility for winning the district, visiting three times recently. A senior leader noted that internal rivalries between former local powerhouses previously led to defeats, but those leaders have left, leaving the ground open for expansion.

During a recent meeting, KTR targeted Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, calling him a bombula minister and alleging his immense wealth tired out cash-counting machines during ED raids on September 28, 2024. KTR questioned why neither BJP nor Congress leaders discuss the hundreds of crores of rupees, claiming Srinivasa Reddy was spared after yielding to Modi and Adani. Harish Rao also targeted ministers Ponguleti, Bhatti Vikramarka, and Tummala Nageswara Rao, alleging they failed to secure a helicopter to rescue stranded people during floods, leading to student fatalities. Political heat has intensified further with the Congress party proposing a Rythu Ashirwada Sabha on June 30. Criticising a mobile app introduced by the Congress government as useless for farmers, KTR declared that if people elect BRS across the district to form the government, they would throw the app into the Bay of Bengal. Harish Rao further alleged that whilst Bhatti Vikramarka is a commission minister, Ponguleti focuses entirely on lands and Tummala remains completely invisible.