Maharashtra: BRS Is B Team Of BJP, Says NCP

Peeved by the prospects of losing leaders to the new entrant in Maharashtra politics, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday termed the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) “the ‘B’ team of BJP”.

Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who addressed a public rally at Nagpur on Thursday, made it clear that his party will not enter into an alliance with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra. He also said that his party shall contest every seat in the state in the civic, Assembly and general elections.

Opposition parties have their base in agrarian economy

The announcement came as a major wake up call for the opposition parties in Maharashtra, especially those who have their base in agrarian economy. This appears to be the real reason behind the NCP’s criticism of BRS.

KCR government's flagship schemes like free power for agriculture, financial aid for farmers and Dalits to start their own enterprise have caught the imagination of the farmers, primarily in the districts bordering Telangana. This has led to many of the political aspirants, who hardly stand a chance to try their luck at elections from the established political parties in the state, have started switching over to the BRS.

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, who is currently on his tour of North Maharashtra, while interacting with reporters at Jalgaon on Friday, said, “The BRS is the ‘B’ team of the BJP in Maharashtra.”

Pawar accuses BRS of poaching

While discussing the state politics with the reporters, Pawar accused the BRS of poaching on the opposition parties in Maharashtra. “He came to the opposition first. He had appealed us to cooperate him. But, now, when we see he has started coming to Maharashtra it appears that only leaders from the Congress and the NCP are going to him. This makes on think that this might be a move by the ruling party,” Pawar said.

In 2019, the opposition had suffered losses due to the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) of Prakash Ambedkar and it fears similar loss due to the BRS this time. “This makes us think whether this is the ‘B’ team of the BJP,” Pawar said at Jalgaon.