Telangana Gamble: BJP Targets Civic Polls, Eyes Expansion In Southern India

With almost all of north India under its belt, the Bharatiya Janata Party is training its eyes on south India and would like to begin with victories in Telangana where the immediate opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi is struggling.

Sensing a vacuum in the state’s opposition landscape following the decline of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the BJP believes Telangana presents one of its strongest opportunities for expansion in southern India.

According to BJP Andhra Pradesh president N. Ramchander Rao, the party views Telangana as its next major political project ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. With municipal elections and Hyderabad corporation polls expected later this year, the BJP is focused on building momentum from the grassroots and translating organisational strength into electoral gains.

The scale of the challenge, however, is reflected in recent electoral data. In urban local body elections held in February 2026, Congress secured 191 municipal corporation wards, compared with the BJP’s 76 and the BRS’s 63. In municipality wards, the Congress won 1,346 seats, while the BRS claimed 718 and the BJP 260. Across urban local bodies more broadly, the Congress emerged dominant with 1,537 victories, ahead of the BRS on 781 and the BJP on 336.

Despite these figures, Rao suggests the BJP sees room for political expansion in a changing electoral landscape. “After Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Telangana is our next target,” he said, describing what he framed as a broader push by the party leadership to deepen the BJP’s presence in southern India. “Our main aim is to come to power in Telangana.”

The BJP’s strategy, he argued, is rooted in issue-based politics. The party plans to sharpen its attacks on the Congress government over unemployment, education, and welfare delivery, while continuing to campaign on farmer and student concerns.

“We are fighting on issues that directly affect people: farmers’ problems, fee reimbursement for students, the condition of universities where there are teacher shortages, and the unemployment crisis,” he said. The BJP claims successive governments since the BRS in 2014 failed to adequately address vacancies in public employment, pointing to the nearly 3 lakh vacant government jobs.

The party is also targeting what it calls the Congress government’s failure to fully implement its six electoral promises. BJP leaders say they will continue to pressure the Congress state administration over its “six guarantees,” including old-age pensions, farmer investment support under Rythu Bandhu, increased reservations for backward classes, and employment assurances.

Ahead of the 2023 state elections, the Congress, had, in fact, made more promises than the BRS in the form of six guarantees such as Rs 2 lakh loan waiver to farmers, free travel to women in RTC buses, monthly financial assistance to women, 16,000 per acre under Rythu Bharosa, supply of gas cylinders at Rs 500 and free power up to 200 units. Of these, the free travel for women in state buses has been implemented; the provision of ₹500 cooking gas cylinders for eligible households has also been implemented. The government has provided up to 200 units of free electricity per month to eligible domestic consumers.

However, the promised ₹500 per quintal paddy bonus over the minimum support price is currently extended only to superfine varieties, leaving many farmers dissatisfied.

“Many farmers are dissatisfied. They haven’t got the promised amount. They also promised increased reservation for backward classes and it hasn’t happened yet. We will raise it,” underscored Rao.

At the organisational level, the BJP says it has intensified protests and public outreach efforts across Telangana. The Andhra Pradesh BJP chief highlighted recent demonstrations, including a gherao of the Secretariat and women-led mobilisations against the Congress government. “We have held large meetings and protests, including women’s gatherings, and we are continuously fighting against the government,” he said.

The party also claims to be expanding steadily in rural Telangana, particularly in areas where it traditionally lagged behind. While north Telangana remains a BJP stronghold, the focus has shifted toward districts such as Warangal, Nalgonda and Khammam, where the party believes it is on a weaker footing and hopes to strengthen its presence.

“We are stronger in north Telangana, becoming better in south of the state and we are making inroads in areas where we were weaker earlier,” says Rao.

Municipal elections likely to be held in September or October 2026, are expected to be a key testing ground for this strategy. The BJP plans to focus on civic bodies in centres such as Warangal and Khammam, while also intensifying efforts in Hyderabad’s municipal corporations with ambitions extending winning mayoral positions.

Elections to three key municipal corporations — Hyderabad’s Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Greater Warangal and Khammam — were not included in February 2026. Voting was also deferred in six municipalities: Manuguru, Mandamarri, Achampet, Nakrekal, Kothur and Siddipet.

Rao says the party is gearing up to capture the three newly formed civic bodies under the (GHMC) Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area - Cyberabad Municipal Corporation, Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation, and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. Recalling the 2020 GHMC polls, the Telangana BJP president said the party won 48 seats independently and they will build on it. “Also, the BRS is losing relevance,” claimed Rao.

Pointing towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Hyderabad, Rao said that the enthusiasm meant that there was enough ground support for the party.

A major part of the party’s groundwork, Rao say, lies in organisational expansion. Booth-level committees are being rapidly built in rural Telangana to strengthen voter outreach and local mobilisation. According to the BJP, committees have already been formed in nearly 30,000 of Telangana’s 36,000 booths.

“Grassroots strengthening is our biggest focus,” says Rao. “We are building booth committees, expanding into rural areas, and fighting consistently against the government.”