BJP to repeat UP in TS

Plans Hindu consolidation to win Telangana in 2019

The BJP appears to be working on the “UP formula” to build the party in Telangana state for the 2019 elections. The party national president Amit Shah is expected to visit the state by this month-end and likely to stay here for three days holding meetings with party leaders and cadre.

State BJP leaders strongly feel that the polarisation of Hindu votes in favour of the BJP and a split in the minority votes among other parties had played a major role in securing a thumping victory for the party in the UP Assembly elections. They feel the same strategy should be adopted in Telangana for the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.

They opine that the TRS government’s proposed Bill for providing 12 per cent quota for Muslims in education and employment in the ongoing Budget session of Legislature would provide an ideal opportunity for the BJP to implement the UP-formula for the polarisation of Hindu votes by taking up programmes aggressively against the religionbased quota.

The party sees no possibility of any tieup with the TRS in 2019 due to its policy of adopting “minority vote bank politics” with special quotas.

The BJP state leadership has already started chalking out programmes against the Muslim quota.

The BJP has been primarily looking at students and youth, who would be the affected on the account of Muslim quota and ensure their active participation in the protest rallies.

The ABVP, the student wing of BJP, will lead the agitation programmes involving students and youth against the Muslim quota. BJPLP leader G. Kishan Reddy said Mr Shah would hold consultations with party leaders from all districts — from statelevel to booth-level.