Hyderabad: Former Congress minister, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, who recently left the Congress citing ‘humiliation’ of senior leaders in candidate selection for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections, officially joined the BRS in the presence of the party’s chief and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao in Jangaon on Monday.
Ponnala Lakshmaiah was formally inducted into the ranks of the BRS during a public meeting, Praja Ashirvada Sabha, which was part of the party’s election campaign.
This extensive campaign was launched from KCR’s ‘lucky constituency’ of Husnabad in Siddipet district, commencing on Sunday, October 15.
BRS minister Errabelli Dayankar, in his opening remarks, extended a warm welcome to the newly inducted leaders and acknowledged the incumbent Jangaon MLA, Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy, who had gracefully made way for Palla Rajeshwar Reddy to contest from the constituency. Yadagiri Reddy had been recently appointed as the chairman of TSRTC, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation.
Revenue division for Cherial
The event witnessed KCR’s arrival via helicopter, and the massive gathering of nearly one lakh people warmly welcomed the chief minister and the occasion.
During this event, KCR also extended his commendation to MLC and Rythu Bandhu Samiti chairman Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, who will contest from Jangaon. He praised Reddy for his adept articulation of the district’s pressing needs.
Palla Rajeshwar Reddy expressed his unwavering confidence in the promises made by KCR and asserted that all electoral pledges made in 2018 had been diligently fulfilled. Rajeshwar Reddy seized the opportunity to request KCR’s support for Cherial a revenue division, and setting up a food processing unit, an R&B office, Kala Bhavan, a medical college, and a junior college in the district.
Responding to the appeal, KCR emphasised that after Hyderabad and Warangal, Jangaon was paramount in his agenda.
‘Don’t trust Opposition’
In an appeal to the public, KCR urged them not to trust political parties that make grandiose promises during election time, asserting that the BRS is the only party that has successfully executed ambitious projects like Kaleshwaram, which had remained a distant dream for several years.
Addressing the opposition’s criticism and BRS’ commitment to providing 24-hour power supply to farmers, KCR remarked, “BRS has empowered the farmers by eliminating the interventions of tehsildars, MROs, and collectors, allowing the farmers in Telangana to claim full ownership of their lands.”
Stating that Congress should have a ’Kabzedaar column’ in their manifesto, KCR said that the grand old party is eyeing minority votes in the Jubilee Hills area with fake promises.
BRS manifesto
The BRS manifesto includes a range of promises, such as offering free life insurance coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakhs for each family below the poverty line (BPL), progressively increasing financial assistance to farmers under the Rythu Bandhu scheme over the next five years, and providing LPG cylinders at a reduced cost of Rs. 400.
KCR also highlighted BRS’s commitment to empowering the people by introducing a scheme similar to Rythu Bheema (farmers’ insurance), offering coverage of up to Rs 5 lakhs.
Stating that Telangana has been a ‘peaceful’ state in the last 10 years, KCR appealed to the public that they should confer record votes to the party in the 2023 elections.
On development of minorities
Underlining the ‘Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb’ (cultural syncretism) of Telangana, KCR appealed to the Muslim community, assuring them that BRS was and would remain dedicated to the development of the minority population. He emphasised, “Unlike any other political party, BRS has allocated 12,000 crores towards the welfare of minorities.”
Voting for the Telangana Assembly elections is scheduled for November 30, with the results slated to be announced on December 3. The current legislative assembly’s term in Telangana concludes on January 16 of the following year.
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