'Ab Ki Baar, Kisan Sarkar', Says KCR In BRS Rally After Darshan Of Lord Vithoba In Maharashtra's Pandharpur

After having darshan of Lord Vithoba at Pandharpur earlier this morning (27 June), Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao addressed a rally at Sarkoli, in which he said that the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government is a 'farmer-friendly' government.

He listed out some of the schemes launched by his government for the farmers like monetary support of Rs 10000 per acre, 24*7 power supply and Rs 5 lakh life insurance cover and said that farmers in Maharashtra too would benefit from them if they elect his party.

Further, he said that farmers and farm workers together comprised around half of the electorate and if they stood united, they could definitely bring a favourable outcome for themselves in an election.

He added that the BRS is not a B-team of the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

During the rally, Bhagirath Bhalke, the son of former MLA Bharat Bhalke who was elected three times from the Pandharpur-Mangalwedha constituency, joined the BRS.

He ended his speech by asking farmers to join him in saying, 'Ab ki baar, Kisan sarkar' and asked them to spread his message in their villages.

After the rally, he is expected to visit the Tulja Bhavani temple.

Earlier, KCR, accompanied by a large number of MLAs, MPs and ministers, arrived in Pandharpur in a huge convoy of around 600 cars.

He had wanted to shower flower petals on the 'warkaris' who come for an annual pilgrimage to the temple but the Maharashtra government denied permission.

The Solapur district in which the Pandharpur temple is located, has a sizeable population of people belonging to the weaving community from Telangana.

The BRS has been trying to build its presence in Maharashtra for some months now by portraying itself as a farmer-friendly government, especially in the rainfall deficit areas of Vidarbha and Marathwada. Some of these districts were once part of the territory of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

It has opened an office in Nagpur and plans to open offices in Mumbai, Pune and Aurangabad.

The development has not pleased the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as it comes at a time when the Congress is taking on the BRS in Telangana with renewed vigour after its recent victory in neighbouring Karnataka.

While Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole said "Vithoba of Pandharpur is a source of faith for all of us, it is not right for someone to take political advantage of it”, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad said, “The voters of Maharashtra are not fools. It does not matter how big the fleet of car is accompanying KCR. It won’t impact Maharashtra politics.”