In the run up to assembly polls, the BRS is ready to set the ball rolling to please the Backward Classes (BCs), a group that no political party can afford to ignore, as they constitute more than 50 percent of the population.
With Assembly elections looming large, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao seems to have seized the day by rolling out the dole of ₹1 lakh to each eligible BC beneficiary to help them buy implements necessary for practising their traditional avocation.
Intended for Most Backward Classes The help is mostly intended for the most backward classes (MBC) communities, who are still dependent on their traditional avocations to make a living, as they are in dire need of help.
The ₹1 lakh assistance scheme does not cover those who belong to BC castes which are already the beneficiaries of the government schemes like sheep and fish fingerling distribution, Kalyana Lakshmi, and support for overseas studies.
A majority of the castes that would benefit from the new scheme would be from among the MBCs who include the Rajakas (washermen), Nayi Branmins (barbers), Kummari (potters), Kamsali (goldsmiths), and so on.
The move came close on the heels of easing out of BC leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar from the helm of Telangana BJP and appointing Union Minister G Kishan Reddy in his place.
The Munnuru Kapu community to which Sanjay belongs feels estranged after his unceremonious exit and now they seem to be wondering whether they have a friend in the BJP.
In May, the Telangana BJP came out with its BC declaration in which it promised allocation of funds in the state budget proportionate to the population of backward classes, constitutional status to the state BC Commission, and importance to BC leaders in filling nominated posts.
