The Congress party in Hyderabad is working on a new strategy to win 12 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by poaching BRS leaders at the municipal, mandal, and Zilla Parishad levels. They believe that local body representatives play a crucial role in winning seats, more so than big leaders.
To achieve this goal, all 64 Congress MLAs have been directed to work towards attracting BRS leaders to join the party. Additionally, the Congress is open to welcoming any important BRS leaders who wish to leave the pink party. Some reports suggest that key BRS leaders are already in talks with the state Congress leadership.
In southern Telangana districts like Khammam, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy, and Mahbubnagar, the BRS holds dominance in local bodies. Despite winning the recent Assembly polls in south Telangana, the Congress is concerned about the impact local body representatives may have on the Lok Sabha elections.
To counter this, the Congress plans to attract municipal chairmen, corporators, councilors, MPTC and ZPTC members, mandal presidents, ZP chairmen, and members of Agricultural Societies, Cooperative and Marketing Societies. The party may offer political posts to those who agree to switch sides. The responsibility of implementing this strategy, known as ‘Operation Akarsh,’ has been given to all MLAs and ministers overseeing different districts.
