Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana has drawn the blueprint for a 999-day aggressive state-wide campaign targeting the Congress government’s failure to implement its six guarantees within 100 days of coming to power in December 2023, state party president N. Ramchander Rao told ThePrint in an exclusive interaction.
The party unveiled the ‘Iga Sahinchadu Telangana’ poster (Telangana will not tolerate anymore) marking the commencement of the 999-day campaign Sunday. The 999-day drive is meant to count the number of days left for the Congress to govern in the state.
Rao said BJP workers would organise public demonstrations from the mandal to state level, highlighting the ruling party’s non-fulfillment of promises made in its manifesto at the time of the state election.
“Our intent is to put up a fight and bring to the fore the promises made to several interest groups and demonstrate the Congress government’s ineffectiveness in fulfilling them. On a daily basis, we will make representations to the government departments concerned from the village to the state level demanding better governance,” Rao said.
A brainchild of Rao, the campaign is part of the BJP’s broader strategy to expand its footprint in Telangana’s urban local bodies and build momentum ahead of the 2028 elections.
According to BJP leaders, the party is renewing efforts to be the prominent opposition voice, having apparently ceded the momentum in its favour to the Congress in 2023.
The BJP’s 999-day campaign for larger political gains is in line with national president Nitin Nabin’s diktat to the party cadre when he visited the state in February, shortly after taking over as BJP chief.
He specifically called the municipal elections as a stepping stone for the BJP to gain power in the 2028 Telangana election and urged workers at every level to actively participate in party work.
“A ticker has been installed at the BJP party office in Hyderabad and the campaign will also motivate karyakartas to work towards BJP rule materialising in 2028. Every passing day is a reminder of the number of days left for us to govern. In the coming weeks and months, we also plan to involve intellectuals and civil society influencers at roundtable discussions to present our plan for the development of Telangana,” N.V. Subhash, BJP state spokesperson, told ThePrint.
The BJP’s campaign comes just over a week after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy launched the 99-day ‘Praja Palana Pragati Pranalika’ initiative to focus on development projects in the Greater Hyderabad region. Planned projects worth Rs 24,500 crore in the city region were announced focussing on improving road connectivity and better implementation of sanitation and urban facilities.
The initiative, launched after the collector’s conference on 6 March, also plans to take welfare and civic services closer to the people, Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said during a review meeting with the chief secretary, principal secretaries, collectors and secretaries of all state departments.
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Party promises
With the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation GHMC election expected around August this year, a number of projects have been announced to improve civic amenities in the city. However, the BJP and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have upped the ante in attacking the Congress for its non-fulfillment of manifesto promises. The BRS launched a ‘Congress Dues Card’ campaign late last year to educate the electorate about the unrealised promises.
The Congress’ six guarantees in Telangana include the Mahalakshmi scheme under which women are allowed Rs 2,500 every month, LPG cylinders at Rs 500 and free travel on RTC buses across the state; Rythu Bharosa scheme, under which farmers and tenant farmers would get Rs 15,000 per acre annually, agricultural labourers Rs 12,000 and a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for paddy crops; Gruha Jyothi, under which all households will receive free electricity up to 200 units; Indiramma Indlu providing house sites and Rs 5 lakh for the homeless; Yuva Vikasam granting Vidya Bharosa cards worth Rs 5 lakh for students; and Cheyutha guarantee, providing senior citizens and other vulnerable groups with monthly pension of Rs 4,000.
Apart from these, specific schemes were announced for 22 interest groups in Congress’ ‘Abhaya Hastham’ manifesto, most of which are seen as having been implemented in half measure.
Declarations tailored for specific constituencies included promises to Warangal farmers, Hyderabad youth, SC-ST people, minorities and backward classes.
Akbaruddin Owaisi, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in Telangana, also targeted the Congress last week stating that the party was “neglecting” its promises made to the Muslim community.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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