Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President N. Ramchander Rao on Friday, 29 May accused the Congress government in Telangana of invoking the legacy of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) solely to court Andhra voters ahead of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections. His remarks came a day after Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy unveiled a statue of NTR in Hyderabad to mark the late leader's birth anniversary.

BJP's Core Charge Against Congress

Speaking at the state BJP office, Ramchander Rao questioned why the Congress had not installed a statue of NTR or honoured his legacy during its years in power. 'I am asking the Congress party: Why haven't they installed NTR garu's statue all these years? Why haven't they honoured his legacy? Congress has no moral right to talk about NTR garu. Nor does it have the qualification to claim his legacy as their own,' he said.

The BJP leader alleged that the Congress routinely stages what he called 'political dramas' before every election. He pointed to remarks reportedly made by Congress leaders ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-election — 'Congress means Muslim, Muslim means Congress' — as an earlier instance of targeted vote-bank outreach, and argued the NTR statue unveiling followed the same pattern.

NTR's Political Legacy and Why It Matters Now

N.T. Rama Rao, a celebrated actor-turned-politician, founded the TDP and served as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh during the 1980s and 1990s. His legacy carries significant electoral weight among Telugu-speaking communities, particularly Andhra settlers in Hyderabad. Ramchander Rao also noted that it was NTR who first gave the call for a 'Congress-free India,' adding, 'Today, the BJP is working steadfastly in that direction.'

OBC Politics and the Siddaramaiah Dig

Ramchander Rao broadened his attack to national Congress politics, criticising the party over the removal of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah — whom he described as the Congress's only OBC chief minister. 'Rahul Gandhi speaks about OBCs wherever you look, be it in Parliament or outside. But the reality is that the Congress has even removed its only OBC Chief Minister. Among the four Chief Ministers the Congress party has in the country today, not a single one belongs to the OBC category,' he said.

Farmers' Distress and Grain Procurement Failures

The BJP leader also trained his fire on the Telangana Congress government over grain procurement, alleging that the absence of basic facilities at procurement centres — including a shortage of lorries and tarpaulins — was causing severe hardship to farmers. He claimed that the state government acted only after sustained pressure from the BJP's campaign.

BJP's Development Pitch for Telangana

Ramchander Rao cited what he described as the Centre's developmental contributions to Telangana, claiming that the Narendra Modi-led government had allocated nearly ₹13 lakh crore for the state's development over the past 12 years. He listed projects including the revival of the Ramagundam Fertiliser Plant, the Warangal Coach Factory, AIIMS Bibinagar, the Mulugu Sammakka-Sarakka Central Tribal University, National Highway expansion, the Hyderabad Regional Ring Road, Metro expansion, and Multi-Modal Transport System services as outcomes of central initiative. He concluded by asserting that voters of Telangana, disillusioned with both the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress, are now looking to the BJP as an alternative.