BRS Plans to Train New Sarpanches
The Congress may claim it has higher numbers compared to the BRS, but the fact is non-Congress supported candidates, be they be those backed by the BJP, or independents, come to 3,296 so far.
HYDERABAD: The BRS, believed to be down and out following the loss in the Jubilee Hills Assembly byelection, appears to have taken heart from its showing so far in the ongoing panchayat elections, and is drawing up plans to ensure all the victorious sarpanch and ward members it supported will receive training to do their jobs well.
Though nowhere near the number of 5,246 Congress-supported candidates who have been declared elected in the first two phases, covering 8,566 gram panchayats, the BRS which has 2,329 elected candidates in its corner, believes that the outcomes so far reflect the disenchantment of the rural voters with the Congress government run by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
The Congress may claim it has higher numbers compared to the BRS, but the fact is non-Congress supported candidates, be they be those backed by the BJP, or independents, come to 3,296 so far.
“In any election to local bodies after a party comes to power, it gets most positions. However, despite the Chief Minister going around along with ministers and his MLAs, the Congress crossed the half-way mark with difficulty. There is an anti-incumbency mood in the state and the results so far show people are essentially unhappy with the ruling party,” BRS MLC Dr Sravan Dasoju said.
“The fact that BRS has done well in almost all districts shows that our party is the only alternative to Congress in the state,” he said.
Meanwhile, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao made it clear that the party would not be silent if the newly-elected sarpanches were made to face difficulties by the government. Speaking in Siricilla, where he met party-supported winners, Rama Rao said the BRS would set up legal cells in every district to assist the sarpanches in the discharge of their duties.
Congratulating the winners, Rama Rao called on them not to get intimidated by threats from the Congress. If anyone came under duress either from the ruling party, or government officials, the legal cell will provide all the required assistance, he said.
“No one can stop the flow of funds which gram panchayats should get as per constitutional provisions and the party will support you if you face any difficulty,” he said. Rama Rao said that after the completion of the third phase of the panchayat elections, the BRS will hold training classes for all party supported sarpanches and ward members.
“In different districts, BRS-supported candidates won 40 to 70 per cent of positions which shows that the results are a clear indication of just how much resentment has grown against the Congress government in the last two years,” Rama Rao said.