Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday left for a visit to Solapur in what is believed to be part of the leader's attempt to expand his party base in Maharashtra.
Sources privy to the development said that the NCP is rattled over KCR's expansion moves in Maharashtra which, the struggling party feels, can put paid to it's certain plans in its backyard. It is learnt that KCR will also attend an event where a popular leader from NCP would join the BRS.
The BRS, however, did not make anything public which can suggest that KCR's visit is linked to any specific political move. Rao, who is travelling by road in a massive convoy of about 600 vehicles, is accompanied by state ministers, MPs, MLCs, MLAs and party senior leaders, sources said.
Rao will offer prayers at Lord Vitthal temple at Pandharpur town near Solapur and at Goddess Tulja Bhavani temple at Osmanabad during his two-day visit to Maharashtra. After renaming the TRS as BRS in December last year, Rao, also known as KCR, has been making efforts to strengthen the party in neighbouring Maharashtra.
Also read: Telangana CM KCR on two-day Maharashtra visit from Monday
He has earlier addressed public meetings at Nanded and other places in Maharashtra, highlighting his 'Telangana model' of development. Several activists and leaders from NCP and other parties in Maharashtra joined the BRS during the last six months. They include former Kannada MLA Harshvardhan Jadhav, former Gangapur MLA Annasaheb Mane, NCP National Vice President Maulana Kadir, Vaijapur BJP office bearer Abhay Patil Chikgaonkar and farmer leaders Jayaji Suryavanshi and Kailas Tawar. K Chandrasekhar Rao has been projecting the Telangana model terming it as a success mantra for good governance for states.
