Dalit Bandhu scheme has again made it to the top headlines in all major newspapers on Sunday (today).

TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao introduced Dalit Bandhu scheme all of a sudden in June last year with an aim to defeat Etela Rajender in Huzurabad Assembly bypoll in October last year.

In Huzurabad, Dalit voters were the majority and KCR felt that if TRS government gives Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family in the constituency under Dalit Bandhu scheme, it will ensure victory for TRS in the bypoll.

But KCR’s calculations went wrong and Etela Rajender from BJP defeated TRS. After Huzurabad bypoll, KCR stopped talking about Dalit Bandhu scheme.

But KCR all of a sudden instructed ministers, TRS MLAs and collectors on Saturday (yesterday) to implement Dalit Bandhu scheme in all the remaining 118 Assembly constituencies in March and directed them to select 100 Dalit families in each constituency.

There are no bypolls or even Assembly polls until December 2023 in Telangana. Why KCR raked up Dalit Bandhu issue again is the question being debated extensively in political circles.

Speculations are rife that KCR did it to counter BJP which laid special focus on 19 Assembly seats reserved for Dalits (SCs). Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay announced Mission-19 to win all 19 SC reserved seats in Telangana in 2023 Assembly polls.

To counter this, KCR came out with Dalit Bandhu scheme in all constituencies to lure Dalit voters towards TRS.