Telangana BJP puts up brave face despite tough contest

Hyderabad, Mar 31: Political observers may have a poor perception of the BJP's performance in Telangana based on December 2018 assembly results, but the saffron party will throw a surprise by winning 8-9 seats out of 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state due to the Narendra Modi factor, party's state unit chief K Laxman has claimed.

The parliamentary elections are different from assembly polls and there is no prime ministerial face from the opposition parties who can match up to Prime Minister Modi's charisma, he said.

The 2014 general election was the last election that a united Andhra Pradesh saw, as the state was bifurcated into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana less than a month after the polls. The BJP had 10.5 per cent vote share and won only Secunderabad seat in alliance with Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

In the assembly polls last year, the BJP could retain only one of the five seats it had won in 2014

"We will not only retain Secunderabad but also win some more seats. The Modi factor will not only work in Hyderabad/Secunderabad but also in surrounding areas," Laxman told PTI in an interview.

In the past, the BJP had won 3-4 Lok Sabha seats in united Andhra Pradesh. The party has winning prospects in constituencies like Mahabubnagar, Secunderabad and Karimnagar, he said

"We are targeting at least 8-9 seats. We are going to set a record," said Laxman, who was defeated by the TRS in the recent assembly poll from Musheerabad within the Secunderabad parliamentary constituency.

Asked about the reason for the confidence after the drubbing in the recent assembly polls, the state party president said, "Modi wave is there and his charisma is still there. There is no prime ministerial face who can match up to Modi."

"After poll results, the Opposition parties will come to know whether there was Modi wave or not," he added.

On the buzz about a 'non-BJP and non-Congress front' created by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Laxman said, "They are day dreaming and trying to confuse the people. Even if they win 16 seats, they cannot form the government at the centre and become PM."

The BJP is fighting alone in the current Lok Sabha polls and has field candidates in all the 17 constituencies.The state will see a single phase election on April 11 and the counting of ballots for the entire country will be on May 23.