Amit Shah arrived in Hyderabad, welcomed by BJP leaders

Setting his eyes on the 2019 Telangana state assembly elections, BJP Chief Amit Shah will prepare the road map and meet booth-level cadres during his three day visit to the state from May 22 to May 24. As he arrived in Hyderabad finally, welcomed by higher BJP leaders of Telangana at Hyderabad Airport.

The BJP chief is ostensibly coming to meet people at the grassroots level and get first-hand information about the reach of the Narendra Modi Government’s programmes to the common man. But the main purpose of the meeting, according to BJP leaders, is to strengthen the party organisation from the grassroots level so as to present it as an alternative to the TRS in the next elections.

The selection of Nalgonda for Mr. Shah’s three-day sojourn too is said to be strategic.

The district, which had for long been a bastion of the Left parties, is gradually yielding space to others, including the Congress, and the BJP wants to gain from the changing trend. The importance attached to the visit could be gauged from the fact that Mr. Shah is scheduled to unveil the statue of Mysaiah Goud, a Backward Classes leader from Theretupalli village who was slain by the naxalites in the late 1990s.

Talking to Agencies, Telangana state BJP President, K Laxman, said, “It’s true that since the 1980s be it an MP, MLA or corporator, all have been from the AIMIM. But neither the Muslims nor the Hindus are happy about it. The poor are getting poorer and even basic amenities like water and power are lacking in the area. Now, Muslims are also disappointed with the AIMIM, who have exploited people in the name of religion for votes. Muslims across the country are looking forward to PM Modi’s governance.”

On May 23, Amit Shah will visit Velugupalli village, where he will unveil a statue of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya at Dalit Basti and will rename the place as Deen Dayal Colony. He will also visit Chinamadaram village.

Mr. Shah would arrive at Hyderabad on May 24 evening and is scheduled to hold a meeting of the party leaders and workers, especially those from Assembly constituencies in the old city like Karwan from where the BJP won the elections in the past. The meeting, sources said, was aimed at consolidating the vote in favour of the BJP and keeping a check on the MIM which has been continuing its streak of victories for the past two decades. And will be visiting Gundrampalli village, which faced atrocities during the Razakar movement, and was a witness to the killings of hundreds.​