"You have to ensure that at least 10 lotus blooms here," Amit Shah said (PTI)
Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday set a target for the party to win at least 10 seats and secure a 35 percent vote share in Telangana in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP had won four of the 17 seats in Telangana in the 2019 polls.
At a meeting of 'mandal' presidents of the party from across Telangana, he claimed that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is a "sunken ship" and the state's ruling Congress is a "sinking ship" while the BJP is Telangana's future, party sources said.
Seeking to boost cadres' morale after the BJP was relegated to third position in the recent assembly polls, Mr Shah said the party used to get less than 10 percent of votes in Gujarat before it emerged as a major force in the western state and won power.
"You have to work hard. The BJP is being seen as the state's future. You have to ensure that at least 10 lotus blooms here," he was quoted as saying, referring to the party's election symbol.
Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats, of which the BJP had won four in the 2019 elections. Its vote share was close to 20 percent.
The BRS, which was in power at the time, had won nine seats and the Congress three.
Mr Shah said some people are wondering why he is visiting the state after the BJP lost in the assembly polls. He asserted that he would keep visiting Telangana till the BJP formed government in the state and exhorted its members to expose the "corruption" of the Congress.
The government may have changed in Telangana, but it will not benefit the people, Mr Shah said, targeting the BRS and the Congress for their alleged appeasement and corruption.
Before the meeting, Mr Shah offered prayers at the Bhagyalakshmi temple near the historic Charminar here. He was accompanied by Union Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy.
"Fortunate to have offered puja at Bhagyalakshmi Temple in Hyderabad. Prayed to the Maa Lakshmi for the well-being and prosperity of every citizen," Mr Shah posted on "X".
This is Mr Shah's first visit to the state after the recently concluded Assembly polls in which the saffron party's performance was 'disappointing'.
The BJP which emerged as a principal challenger to the BRS at one point in time after winning a couple of by-polls and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, before the November 30 Assembly elections, did however, double its vote share to nearly 14 percent besides improving its tally to eight seats in the 119-member House.
After the meeting, BJP Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman said Amit Shah drew up action plan for Telangana BJP to win over 10 seats with a vote share of 35 percent in the next Lok Sabha polls in Telangana.
A press release from Telangana BJP said in order to strengthen the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state-level meeting resolved to appeal to party workers to ensure that the BJP wins more number of Lok Sabha seats from Telangana.
BJP emerged victorious in eight seats and stood in the second position in as many as 19 segments while polled between 50,000 and 1,00,000 votes in 24 constituencies, the release added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)