K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter, said the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) had been friendly with the BRS for the past ten years. She said that the Opposition is unable to accept the increasing popularity of BRS across the country and hence alleging that the party is the B-team of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi alleged that both BRS and AIMIM are B-teams of the BJP and are working together to defeat Congress in Telangana. BJP has alleged that BRS and AIMIM are B-teams of Congress.
MLC Kavitha denied the allegations on Friday, November 24, and said, “We maintain a friendly attitude with AIMIM. Despite having declared that status, there has never been a formal alliance between the two parties.”
Kavitha also said that the party’s national acceptance is growing. “We are not anybody's B team; we are the Telangana people's team."
She said the party is implementing schemes like Rythu Bandhu which has led to a change in political dialogue with regard to farmer welfare. “The BJP and the Congress don't like this. That's why they continue to make such allegations,” she said.
Rythu Bandhu is a bi-annual Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme introduced by the BRS government a few months before Assembly elections in 2018. Land owning farmers now get ₹10,000 a year per acre as input subsidy for farming. Over 60 lakh beneficiaries are believed to be getting money for it from the state.
On Thursday, November 23, state IT Minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) also criticized the Union government and said initiatives like Rythu Bandhu and efforts to boost irrigation have played a crucial role in reducing farmer suicides in Telangana. He also expressed the intention to expand these programs into other states.
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Telangana goes to polls on November 30. In 2018, BRS swept to power by winning 88 out of 119 seats and AIMIM retained its seven seats in Hyderabad. Despite their alliance Congress and Telugu Desam Party, could win just 19 and two seats each, while the BJP won only one seat.