KCR’s ‘pink’ brigade on pilgrimage to Pandharpur

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, famously known as KCR, the president of Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), has attempted to make good use of the Pandharpur Wari - Maharashtra's biggest annual pilgrimage - to expand his public outreach, mostly among the farmers who have been an integral part of the huge congregations. On an average, over 12 lakh devotees, mostly farmers, reach the holy town of Pandharpur, on foot and vehicles, for Ashadhi pilgrimage.

Unlikely to miss a mass communication opportunity after beginning the party expansion from the border districts, the BRS chief made a grand entry to Solapur district on Monday, accompanied by a cavalcade of 600 vehicles carrying hundreds of BRS workers, office-bearers, Telangana ministers, MPs and MLAs. After a night halt, the BRS convoy will on Tuesday resumed their journey to Pandharpur, to seek the revered deity Vitthal-Rukhmini's blessings.

Making a pitch in Maha

KCR's increased activity in Maharashtra - the induction of many leaders who were frustrated and neglected in their respective parties - has evoked strong reactions from the regional and national parties. He has been attempting to market a pitch that provides for the welfare of farmers, mostly through freebies, discounts and financial assistance. The Telangana government has been running the media campaigns in Maharashtra to project KCR as the messiah. His rallies in the state had attracted a sizable presence. The lure and lustre go hand in hand in the BRS campaign.

The convoy of Telangana chief minister in Maharashtra

Recently, the BRS set up a huge office in Nagpur to boost the structuring of the organisation. The party has been working on the second-tier leaders in Latur, Nanded, Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Solapur districts, and intends to lap up senior leaders from across the state soon. NCP's by-election candidate from Pandharpur, Bhagirath Bhalke, joined the BRS on Monday.

A day after KCR's mega visit, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be in Pandharpur for puja and mass interaction. Former MP Haribhau Rathod, who was among the first batch of Maharashtra leaders to join the BRS, said the ‘pink storm' was destined to impact the state politics. "KCR is the champion of farmers' welfare. Many leaders from Maharashtra who want to join BRS will meet the leader in Solapur.

We will have with us leaders from the NCP, the Congress, the BJP, the Shiv Sena, the VBA, the AAP, the RPI and the MNS. The farmers in Maharashtra have given KCR's policies and a slogan - 'abki baar kisan sarkar' - a big thumbs up. KCR will greet the warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) by showering flowers on them from a helicopter on Tuesday. Later, he will meet the people from warkari sampraday (sect)," said Rathod, adding that the party had attracted a cross section of the socio-political spectrum.

‘BJP's B team'

State Congress president Nana Patole said the BRS was the BJP's Team B and it will have no impact in Maharashtra. "The people of the state know who benefits from the division of votes. In Telangana, the BRS is facing a crisis and many of its leaders are joining the Congress party. The Telangana pattern is just as deceptive as the Gujarat pattern. The Congress has all the information about what KCR's party has done in Telangana and soon we will start exposing the bogus Telangana pattern," he said.

NCP president Sharad Pawar said, "In politics, some parties create other teams. Some call it Team B. We will soon know whose Team BRS is," he said, adding that the defection of some leaders wasn't a worry. He said the (populist) announcements should be practical to be executed and not impact the overall development of the state. "People will know about it after six months or a year. A policy is needed to decide whether the government money should be spent on development or (freebies) distribution," he added.

‘Introspect Congress'

BJP's spokesperson Vishwas Pathak said the Congress has always found a wrong reason for his party's success. "The Congress has gone down miserably, but it doesn't introspect. Instead it blames others. The BJP does not need any Team B. It wins on its own," he said. About Pawar, he said the leader also needed to work on his party. "The leaders who are junior to Pawar have achieved so much at a young age. They have made the governments on their own."