KCR hints at early polls

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday hinted at the possibility of holding Assembly elections in October.

Addressing the plenary session of the BRS, KCR said the BJP was desperate as it feels that it was losing ground in the state. Hence it may decide to hold the polls in October. He said the focus of the party leaders and workers should be on winning 100-plus seats. In 2014, the pink party had won 63 and in 2018 it won 88.

KCR said the first file he would sign on Sunday after the inauguration of the new Secretariat building would be regarding the sanction of Rs 3 lakhs to the poor who have land and want to construct houses.

He told the party leaders to bury their hatchets, stop making claims about the party tickets openly and stay among the people. He said he has detailed reports about the performance of each and every MLA, his performance and popularity.

"Leaders should first come out of the comfort zone of their houses and work at the grassroot level so that the BRS would be in the driving seat for the third consecutive time," the BRS chief said. Decision on who should get tickets would depend on their performance, he added.

KCR expressed his displeasure over the infighting at party's Atmeeya Sammelans held across the state. Referring to the corrupt practices that had come to his notice in Adilabad and other districts in the implementation of Dalit Bandhu scheme, he said he has a list of those who had taken kickbacks of Rs 3 lakh from the beneficiaries. If it was repeated either by the leaders or their followers, the leaders would be mercilessly sent out of the party, he warned. "Party is important not individuals," he added. Stating that the main contest in majority constituencies in the state would be between the Congress and the BRS, the BRS chief made it clear that BJP's presence in the state is miniscule. Only in some constituencies, the fight would be triangular, he added.

However, KCR cautioned the party leaders that they should not ignore the saffron party. Focus on weak constituencies, he told the leaders.

Regarding the BRS contesting polls in other states, the BRS chief told them that the party will not contest in all 543 Lok Sabha seats. It will contest only the winnable seats for the present.