In Telangana, BRS campaign shifts tone, from talking of its schemes to ‘what if Cong comes to power’

The BRS’s recent claim that the Congress would do away with Rythu Bandhu and the Dharani portal if it came to power drew sharp criticism from Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Revanth Reddy, who said BRS leaders were lying to people and resorting to scaremongering.

“KCR has realised that his government will fall. It was the Congress which started giving free power to farmers, how can we stop it? We are not doing away with Rythu Bandhu. On the contrary, we have promised to increase the amount. Also, we will rectify glitches in Dharani portal and not cancel it. I am sure people already know that the BRS is spreading lies,” Revanth said in Jangaon on Wednesday.

KCR’s shift in stance began on Monday in Burgampadu of Bhadradri Kothagudem district where he said Congress leaders like Revanth and Rahul Gandhi have promised to “throw the Dharani portal into the Bay of Bengal”. “If the Congress comes to power, middlemen culture will thrive again. For Rythu Bandhu and Dharani to continue, you must vote the BRS to power. People have to decide whom to throw into the Bay of Bengal,” the Chief Minister said and alleged that the Congress was out to confuse people.

He reiterated his “Rythu Bandhu will disappear if the Congress comes to power” claim on Tuesday in Palakurthi, where he addressed a rally in support of party candidate Errabelli Dayakar Rao. “We are providing round-the-clock power supply and Rythu Bandhu. The Congress will take away all this. If the Congress wins, Rythu Bandhu will disappear. Revanth Reddy says three hours of electricity is enough for farmers. Congressmen are openly saying they will take away all facilities provided to the farmers by the BRS government,” he said.

At Haliya in Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly constituency, the CM launched an attack on Congress leader K Jana Reddy, whom he accused of opposing uninterrupted power supply. “However, I fulfilled my promise in two years,” he said. Reddy’s son K Jaiveer Reddy is the Congress candidate from the constituency. He also trained guns at Rahul, Revanth and CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka over the TPCC president’s remarks that three hours of power supply was enough for farmers.

At Narsampet, KCR evoked the Telangana sentiment and said he understood the pain of the farmers. “The Congress can never understand their suffering,” he said and urged people to vote cautiously.

For the first time in the campaign, he also attacked YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief Y S Sharmila and accused her of working to defeat the BRS.

On November 3, Sharmila had announced that her party would not contest the upcoming elections and had extended support to the Congress.

Minister KTR targeted the Congress at Chityal in Nakrekal constituency, where he claimed farmers in Karnataka are already saying that voting for the Congress was a mistake. In Parigi, he said, “Do you want Rythu Bandhu or rabandu (vultures) and scams?”

In Hyderabad on Wednesday, KTR claimed Karnataka celebrated Diwali in darkness as there were power cuts. “Do you want electricity or the Congress? The development that the BRS has achieved in the last nine years, the Congress could not do over the past 60 years,” he said.

On Monday at a rally in Narayankhed, Harish Rao also trained guns at the Karnataka government. “I fail to understand on what grounds Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar are asking for votes in Telangana. There is no warranty for the Congress’s six guarantees,” he said.

BRS leaders downplayed the change in the party’s campaign. Party leader Dasoju Srravan told The Indian Express that his party leaders were only reacting to the Congress’s claims. BJP leaders did not comment on the matter.