BJP in Telangana gearing up for LS polls, will name candidates from Mar 16

State party president K Laxman had a meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah in Delhi Monday following the announcement of schedule for the general elections

BJP in Telangana is gearing up for the Lok Sabha election and is in the process of identifying candidates for it, state party president K Laxman said Tuesday.

"On March 15, the parliamentary board meeting is going to take place to identify candidates... We will go there by preparing a list of candidates at the state-level by that time," he told reporters here.

Laxman had a meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah in Delhi Monday following the announcement of schedule for the general elections.
 

Telangana would go to polls on a single day in the first phase on April 11.

 

BJP is getting ready for the process of nominations beginning March 18, he said. The party would contest all the 17 seats in Telangana on its own, he said.

The party is likely to announce candidates from March 16, he said.

It has been requested to have meetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and others in Telangana, he said.

He asserted that NDA would get full majority with the government formed under the leadership of Modi.

Pooh-poohing ruling TRS campaign seeking 16 Lok Sabha seats in the state to play a key role post-Lok Sabha elections for ensuring a better deal for Telangana, Laxman said TRS is 'day-dreaming.'
 

TRS had 15 MPs (including ally AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi) on its side during 2014-19 and what has it achieved, he asked.

Wondering which developmental project in Telangana is delayed during the period, Laxman cited the examples, including AIIMS and highways, as the contribution of the NDA government to the state's development.

Though he would not question the existence of regional parties, did they work with a national perspective in the past, he wondered.
 

Laxman alleged that voting for TRS is equal to voting for AIMIM. "Asaduddin Owaisi is playing the role of a middleman in the defection of (MLAs) from Congress to TRS," he said.

Asked about TRS working president K T Rama Rao's claim that BJP would not get more than 150 Lok Sabha seats, he said he challenges Rama Rao that NDA would come to power on its own.

"NDA would come to power, Narendra Modi government would be formed without your involvement... If you say no, are you ready for political sanyas," he said.

He also said Modi had the strength to effectively deal with terrorism.