A "weakening" Cong & BJP's gameplan to challenge TRS in

With the Congress facing desertions in Telangana, a resurgent BJP is now pushing ahead to expand its base, occupy the main opposition space and emerge as the only viable alternative to the ruling TRS.

Winning four seats of the total 17 in Telangana in the Lok Sabha elections has given the Amit Shah-led party new confidence and energy that it indeed can challenge the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, headed by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Seen as only a marginal player and not a force to reckon with in Telangana, the BJP's Lok Sabha election performance has come as huge suprise to political circles.

The BJP had bagged only five seats in the 2014 assembly elections and it came down to a mere one in the polls held last December, amid signs that it would take a long time for the party to make inroads in the State.

But it has all changed now, and the BJP sees a clear opportunity to emerge as the main opposition, replacing a "weakening" Congress.

Twelve Congress MLAs, of the total 19, joined the TRS last week, dealing a huge body-blow to the Rahul Gandhi-led outfit.

BJP's vote-share went up to nearly 20 per cent in the Lok Sabha elections, from about seven per cent in the December Assembly poll.

BJP national spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the Lok Sabha election results have shown that his party has grown tremendously in Telangana and "people have lost confidence in the Congress party."
"BJP will chalk out an action plan to emerge as the only viable alternative to the TRS by 2023 (when Assembly elections are due). BJP is very confident of achieving this goal."