BJP's target is to form govt in TS after 2023 polls: Chouhan

Hyderabad: BJP vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party would capture power in Telangana State in 2023 elections.

Speaking to the media after holding a meeting with State BJP leaders here, Chauhan said the BJP would put an end to family and caste politics in Telangana State.

He alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was not sincere in developing Telangana State and people were facing several difficulties due to the family rule in the State. The BJP's target was to form the government after the next Assembly elections in Telangana in 2023.

Chauhan said he was surprised to learn that KCR was not visiting the Secretariat and was operating from his official residence. He said as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for 15 years, he used to perform official duties only from the Secretariat.

Chouhan took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying he was the first to jump out of a "sinking" Congress ship instead of trying to save it till the end.

"You would not know today who president of Congress is. We heard that when any ship is sinking, it's the captain who stays on till the end to save. But, the captain is the one who jumped first from Congress' ship," he said.

Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor BJP president Amit Shah or party activists were resting on their laurels after the party's massive victory in Lok Sabha polls, he said.

Chouhan, who is BJP's membership 'pramukh' (convener), said the party would soon launch its membership drive. The opposition parties were in a bad state with the SP and BSP "splitting" in Uttar Pradesh and Gandhi "jumping the ship", he claimed.