In a bid to counter the Congress, which has come out with six guarantees, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is planning to woo women voters with financial sops in the BRS manifesto to be released on 16 October in a public rally at Warangal with much fan fare. Congress has promised financial assistance of Rs 2500 per month, subsidy on LPG cylinders, and free travel in government buses to women voters.

Women voters in Telangana, who are equal in number to men, will play a crucial role in the upcoming Assembly elections. According to the final voters list published in Telangana, the total number of voters in the state is 3,17,17,389 with 1,58,71,493 male voters and 1,58,43,339 female voters while 8,11,640 voters between the age of 18 and 19.

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According to the state Finance Minister T Harish Rao, the BRS manifesto will focus on the economic empowerment of women after implementing schemes like Kalyana Laxmi, KCR Kit, and Gruha Laxmi which take care of marriage expenses of women, nutrition, and vaccination for pregnant women as well as housing. On the eve of Bathukamma which coincides with Navratri sarees are also distributed among women by the government.

It may be recalled that although Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had prepared a detailed manifesto in the 2014 elections in 2018 the party rode mostly on the success of their existing schemes to come back to power. This time, according to Harish Rao the BRS manifesto will create a “mind block” among the Opposition.

Meanwhile, BJP’s national general secretary Bandi Sanjay today expressed concern that K Chandrasekhar Rao was last seen on the day of Ganesh puja and had been missing since then. The chief minister was down with viral fever. However, Bandi Sanjay said he was praying for Rao’s health and demanded that he should hold a press conference and brief about what the Prime Minister has said about BRS proposing to join the NDA. Congress chief A Revanth Reddy alleged that the Prime Minister was visiting Telangana repeatedly to split the anti-incumbency paving the way for the BRS to come back to power. Yesterday Mr Narendra Modi had accused the Congress of splitting the Opposition vote to facilitate the victory of BRS.