Foreign forces backing ‘vote theft’ campaign, alleges Telangana BJP chief

Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao on Sunday alleged that the ongoing campaign on “vote theft” against the Centre was being influenced and encouraged by “foreign entities” and “external forces”, and asserted that the Narendra Modi government would never succumb to what he termed “anarchist” elements and their “sinister plans”.

Addressing a party meeting, Mr. Rao said there was a growing sense of nationalism among the youth, which, he claimed, was reflected in recent student union elections in Punjab, Kerala and Hyderabad, where candidates aligned with the BJP’s ideology had emerged victorious. He also cited the party’s success in recent MLC elections in Bihar and Maharashtra as evidence of its expanding support base.

The BJP leader stressed the importance of winning the upcoming Graduates’ and Teachers’ MLC elections in Telangana and urged party leaders and cadre to ensure that every eligible graduate is enrolled as a voter. “The Congress party is currently in power and has a history of misusing authority. We must remain vigilant as we take on both the Congress and the BRS,” he said.

Recalling the BJP’s electoral history in the Hyderabad Graduates’ constituency, Mr. Rao noted that party leaders such as V. Rama Rao, L.S. Raju and T. Rajeshwar Rao had previously won the seat. Referring to his own defeat in the last election, he claimed he had lost by a narrow margin to a BRS candidate despite the latter allegedly spending large sums of money.

Expressing confidence that the BJP would win both MLC seats, Mr. Rao said that growing public dissatisfaction with the governance of the Congress and BRS governments would work in the party’s favour. He maintained that a significant section of the educated electorate wanted the BJP to come to power and stressed the need to ensure proper voter registration among supporters.

The party’s victory in the two MLC constituencies would strengthen the party’s prospects in future elections in Telangana.

At a separate programme, the BJP leader extended support to National Health Mission (NHM) employees and demanded that the Congress government immediately address their grievances. Lending solidarity to their protest demanding proper pay scales and other issues, he said it was “painful”, that early 17,000 doctors, ANMs and paramedical staff providing essential healthcare services at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and neighbourhood clinics had been forced to go on strike. He also called for the implementation of the principle of “equal pay for equal work” for all healthcare personnel, including those in Ayurveda, Homeopathy and AYUSH services.