KCR eyes Chhattisgarh inroads as Jogi Congress may merge with BRS

Hyderabad: The BRS Chief K Chandrashekar Rao, who is trying to expand his party in different States of the country, has found the Chhattisgarh Janata Congress (Jogi) as the medium to spread in the tribal-dominated State as there is speculation that the party formed by the first Chief Minister of the State Ajit Jogi is going to be merged with the pink party.

According to party leaders, after Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, KCR is looking at Chhattisgarh to spread. Sources said that Ajit Jogi’s son Amit Jogi had several rounds of meetings with the BRS chief. It is learnt that he had agreed for the merger. The sources said the announcement is likely to be made in a couple of days.

A BRS leader said the Jogi Congress has some base in the Southern part of Chhattisgarh in areas like Bastar, which has borders with Telangana districts. Many from Chhat(tisgarh come to Telangana for work. A large section of people also know Telugu. The party finds it easy to spread in the neighbouring State, said the leader. He said after the merger, a public meeting is also likely to be held in the State.

According to BRS leaders, the merger would help BRS in spreading, as already there is a set-up in every district of the State. The party had won seven seats during the 2018 elections. However, the sources said the Jogi Congress has been battling for survival. Its performance has been dwindling over the years with several leaders looking at different political parties. The party has found BRS as a medium to keep its flock together. The former Chhattisgarh CM had started his party on June 21, 2016; it is believed that Amit Jogi may make an announcement on the merge with BRS on the same day. The Telangana CM, who is busy with the decennial celebrations of formation of Telangana till June 22, will tour the bordering State after that day.