Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent 'revelation' that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) wanted to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections has triggered a war of words between the BRS and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana.
PM Modi, during a rally in poll-bound Telangana's Nizamabad on Tuesday, 3 October, alleged that state Chief Minister and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao had approached him after the GHMC polls, hoping to join the NDA.
He then claimed he declined Rao's request "due to his deeds."
But sharply reacting to the Prime Minister statement, BRS leader KT Rama Rao claimed that it was, in fact, his party that rejected the BJP's advances.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, 4 October, Telangana's IT Minister and son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao claimed:
"BRS has never allied with anyone during polls ever since Telangana was formed despite several requests ... In 2018, Biggest Jhoota Party through its State President Dr K Laxman sent feelers to ally with BRS. Could the offer have been made without the approval of his Delhi bosses?"
Claim & Counterclaim
PM Modi, during the rally, said, as per India Today:
"After the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, KCR came to meet me in Delhi and said that he wanted to join NDA. He also asked me to extend support to him. I told him (KCR) that due to his deeds, we cannot be associated with him."
The Prime Minister also claimed that Rao, before the elections, "used to welcome me at the airport, but later, he suddenly stopped doing so."
In the GHMC polls held in December 2020, the BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 56 out of 150 seats, and the BJP won 48 seats – a considerable improvement from the 2015 polls.
Rama Rao, however, rebuked on Tuesday that that "we were not bitten by a mad dog that we wanted to join the NDA."
As he went on to claim that the BJP "sent feelers to ally with BRS," he added that there were media reports that purportedly showed the then BJP state chief saying that the party was open to joining hands with the BRS.
"Why should BRS ally with a party which didn't even get deposits in 105 assembly segments? Why does BRS need support of BJP in GHMC elections when we had the strength to form on our own? We are fighters not cheaters," Rama Rao said, adding that the PM is suffering from "selective amnesia."
While several BRS leaders rejected PM Modi's allegations, the Congress – which has been alleging a 'poll tie-up' between the BRS and the BJP – claimed that the "dark deal" is now out in the open.
Congress chief Revanth Reddy said on Tuesday, "There is no need to specifically mention or doubt their [BRS and BJP] friendship now that the PM himself has come out openly about their hidden deals. Telangana people should understand the dark deal between the BRS and BJP, and take a wise decision in the upcoming elections," as per TNIE.
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