KT Rama Rao accuses BJP of playing ‘cheap political stunts’ to postpone state elections

BJP was attempting to postpone elections in five States including Telangana by playing out ‘cheap political stunts’ like the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, said KT Rama Rao

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president and Minister KT Rama Rao said on Tuesday that the BJP was attempting to postpone elections in five States including Telangana by playing out ‘cheap political stunts’ like the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, which in fact was indicative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party’s fear of a defeat in those States.

The simultaneous election proposal, along with the move to rename India as Bharat, were all cheap tactics to divert public attention from pressing issues, including the Centre’s failed promises and potential electoral losses, he said.

The BJP’s apparent eagerness to delay the State elections was indicative of its fear of defeat in the elections in the five States, which could impact its performance in the 2024 national elections, he said, calling the BJP’s tenure a ‘disaster’ for India.

At the same time, Rama Rao said if elections were postponed, it would offer his party the opportunity to complete any pending projects before facing the electorate. However, he remained confident that when the time came, voters would render their judgment based on the government’s overall performance, dismissing the BJP’s diversionary tactics.

In an informal interaction with the media here on Tuesday, KT Rama Rao also lambasted the Modi administration for failing to deliver on key commitments related to housing, drinking water, and employment. These unfulfilled promises had forced the BJP to resort to non-issues in a bid to divert attention from their shortcomings.

“If the BJP government was genuinely interested in implementing simultaneous elections across the nation, no political party could obstruct it in Parliament, given the BJP’s substantial numerical advantage,” he said, also saying that the Congress and BJP were colluding with each other against the BRS.

He pointed to instances such as Rahul Gandhi skipping Gujarat during his Bharat Jodo Yatra and the selective scrutiny of BRS members by Central agencies, while no Congress leader was facing any such charges, as evidence of this collusion. He also questioned the outcome of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, where both Madhu Yashki Goud and Ponnam Prabhakar from Congress lost their deposits in Nizamabad and Karimnagar constituencies, respectively, despite their significant support base.

Rama Rao refused to comment on the ongoing developments in Andhra Pradesh, asserting that they did not concern the BRS. As a national party, the BRS would concentrate on addressing issues of national significance that affect the country’s populace rather than individual incidents, he said.