Fadnavis: BJP’s Win In Maha Polls Will Impact Municipal Elections In Telangana

Addressing a BJP Vijay Sankalp Sabha at Kagaznagar, he said Maharashtra’s electoral outcome would influence the political atmosphere in neighbouring Telangana. He appealed to voters to support BJP candidates in Asifabad and Kagaznagar municipalities and the Mancherial Municipal Corporation.

Referring to inter-state cooperation, Fadnavis said the Maharashtra government was willing to extend support for the Pranahita-Chevella project, even though about two lakh acres were expected to be submerged in Maharashtra. He said his government was prepared to hold discussions with the Telangana government and emphasised maintaining cordial relations with neighbouring states under the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative led by Narendra Modi.

Fadnavis said development of municipalities was possible through Central government schemes such as Smart City, AMRUT, Swachh Bharat and PMAY, and asserted that BJP-led municipalities would benefit when the party was in power at the Centre.

He criticised both the BRS and the Congress governments for not paying compensation for lands acquired in Gadchiroli for the Kaleshwaram project. He said the Maharashtra government had paid compensation for submergence of lands and recalled extending assistance in 2015 when the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao sought support for the project on the Godavari river.

He alleged that both the BRS and Congress governments had failed to compensate Maharashtra farmers and accused them of mismanaging Telangana’s finances, claiming the state had moved from a surplus budget position to heavy debt. He also alleged corruption by both parties.

Fadnavis said the national highway connecting Bellampalli in Telangana with Gadchiroli in Maharashtra would be completed soon and claimed that development was progressing rapidly in states governed by the BJP. He alleged that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was pursuing appeasement politics and made allegations regarding diversion of SC and ST reservations.

BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao alleged that the Telangana government was heading towards what he termed tax pressure due to financial constraints and called on voters to support the BJP. Adilabad MP Godam Nagesh appealed for votes in the municipal elections in Kagaznagar and Asifabad, stating that the BJP was committed to development and welfare.

Teachers’ MLC Malka Komaraiah alleged that government employees and pensioners were facing difficulties due to delays in salaries and retirement benefits and said Telangana had earlier been a surplus budget state.

Sirpur (T) MLA Palvai Harish Babu described Kagaznagar as “Mini India” and appealed to voters to support the BJP, citing development works undertaken in the constituency over the past two years. Several BJP leaders were present at the meeting.