Looking to regain power in Telangana, the ruling TRS leader K T Rama Rao said on Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity is "on the decline" and the BJP leaders are "living in a fool's paradise" if they feel other parties are scared of the 'Modi factor'.
He also took on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying it was ironical for him to talk about dynasty in accusing that all benefits from creation of Telangana as a separate state were cornered by "one family" (of the chief minister).
"But for his surname, I don't know what else makes him the leader of the Congress party", said Rama Rao, son of caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
In poll-bound Telangana, BJP president Amit Shah and other senior leaders of the party have repeatedly charged the TRS government of opting to go in for early elections fearing Modi's popularity.
The BJP leaders have argued that if Telangana elections were to be held as scheduled along with that for Lok Sabha next year, it would have given a huge advantage to the BJP and the TRS wanted to avoid such a scenario.
Talking to PTI, Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, said the BJP wants to continue "day-dreaming" that other parties are scared of Modi's popularity.
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"Modi's popularity is on the decline. The BJP has to introspect what went wrong. They are living in a fool's paradise," KTR said.
He also dismissed contemptuously the charge made by the Congress that the BJP (Bharatiya Janta Party) and the TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) have a tacit understanding for the December 7 assembly poll.
KTR said the BJP does not exist in Telangana and the Congress' "nonsensical accusation" is the figment of its imagination.
"We are a non-UPA, non-NDA political party. We don't need either Congress or BJP for our state. We have competency to run our state. In fact, if anything, national parties will have to come and seek support of regional parties in days to come", he said.
He claimed both the Congress and the BJP were getting weaker by the day and regional forces are gaining strength.
On Rahul Gandhi's accusation that the "benefits" after the formation of Telangana had been cornered by "one family" (of Chandrasekhar Rao), Rama Rao said the Congress President was probably the biggest beneficiary of nepotism and family politics.
KTR said he found Gandhi talking about family rule and dynasty "ironical".
"But for his surname, I don't know what else makes him the leader of the Congress party", said the TRS leader, who is widely seen as heir apparent to Chandrasekhar Rao, said.
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