TRS membership drive to halt BJP growth?

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s ongoing membership drive seems to have a singular aim — check the growth of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State. 
TRS is confident that BJP cannot emerge as an alternative, however this has not stopped it from being cautious. The TRS has set a target of enrolling more than 59 lakh members into the party, inducting at least 50,000 new members in each Assembly segment.

It may be recalled that TRS was delivered an unpleasant surprise in the recent Lok Sabha elections. As many as four seats went to BJP candidates, including key constituencies such as Karimnagar and Nizamabad; they were expected to be safe seats for senior leaders B Vinod Kumar and K Kavitha. Post the results, TRS leaders have come to the conclusion that the youth of the State, at least in some areas, are supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And they believe they can contain BJP’s growth if they attract young Telanganites towards TRS. 

“TRS was founded in 2001 and it led the Telangana movement for 14 long years. But those born in 2001 became first-time voters this year. They have not witnessed our (TRS’) agitations. They have only seen TRS in power. This is the reason why, in some segments, they supported (Narendra) Modi in the Lok Sabha elections,” claimed a TRS leader. 
While TRS is indeed looking to attract the State’s youth, the senior leader emphasised that this does not mean it fears the BJP. “BJP can never become an alternative to TRS. The people will not accept BJP here like they do in north India,” he said. 

TRS leader and Chennur MLA Balka Suman said BJP will remain only an ‘Uttaradi party’ (a part of north Indians). “BJP will not be able to expand its base in Telangana. Though it might have won four Lok Sabha seats, its strength at the grassroots has not increased,” he said.  Another leader echoed Suman’s views. He claimed BJP’s vote share in the MPTC and ZPTC elections indicated its actual strength. 
For all its talk, it appears TRS is not taking any chances. Multiple BJP leaders have already made their intentions clear -- they want the saffron party to form the State government in Telangana in 2023. In an attempt to keep this dream unattainable, TRS is trying to take on board all communities in the State, hoping that they will continue to support it. The pink party leadership has said 51 per cent of all party posts will be given to persons from the SC, ST and minority communities.