BRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has changed his tone on Andhra Pradesh as the Assembly polls in Telangana draw near.
KCR has been visiting districts in Telangana for the past few days and addressing public meetings, urging voters to give a 'hat trick' victory to BRS in the upcoming Assembly polls scheduled for December this year.
In his speeches, KCR is comparing the performance of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the last nine years since the bifurcation of the state in 2014, to prove his point that Telangana has achieved more development than AP.
During a public meeting held in Gadwal on Monday, KCR stated that Telangana enjoys 24-hour uninterrupted power supply, while AP has been plunged into darkness due to power shortages. He urged voters to visit AP, which is just 25 kilometers away from Gadwal, and witness the power situation for themselves.
The question that is circulating in political circles is why KCR suddenly started attacking AP.
BRS circles claim that KCR wants to seek the support of Seemandhra voters in TS, especially in Hyderabad and surrounding districts, where a significant number of Seemandhra natives reside and form a major chunk of voters.
KCR aims to showcase the development of Telangana under his leadership while highlighting the lack of development in AP during the same period.
However, there is a concern whether Seemandhra voters will support BRS if KCR continues to attack AP.
Seemandhra native voters have favored BRS in all the elections held in Telangana since the GHMC elections in January 2016.
Even in the December 2020 GHMC polls, Seemandhra voters played a crucial role in ensuring the victory of BRS candidates in wards where they form a majority, while Telangana voter-dominated wards voted for BJP.
Seemandhra native voters in Telangana are divided between YSRCP and TDP. While YSRCP's presence in Telangana diminished after the 2014 Assembly polls, the TDP lost its influence due to mass defection of leaders and cadre to BRS.
Both YSRCP and TDP have no significant political stakes in Telangana. Against this backdrop, KCR aims to reach out to Seemandhra native voters in Telangana with his 'development' agenda.
