The BRS govt launched a nationwide media campaign, reportedly spending Rs 240 crore on advertisements across newspapers, television channels, and digital platforms

The Forum for Good Governance (FGG), a prominent civil society organization in Telangana, has called on Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to launch a high-level inquiry into the expenditure of Rs 240 crore by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government on advertisements across media organizations in India. The FGG alleges that these advertisements, purportedly aimed at promoting the state’s welfare schemes, were strategically timed to coincide with the renaming of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in October 2022, raising suspicions of political motives and misuse of public funds.

The petition, submitted by the FGG to the Governor’s office on July 9, 2025, claims that the massive expenditure was orchestrated to bolster the BRS’s national image as it transitioned from a regional to a national party. The organization argues that the advertisements, which were disseminated through print, electronic, and digital media, were less about publicizing welfare schemes and more about promoting the political ambitions of then-Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and his party. The FGG has demanded a thorough investigation, preferably by an independent agency such as the Vigilance and Enforcement Department or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to probe the allocation and utilization of these funds.

Background: A Strategic Name Change

The TRS, which had governed Telangana since its formation in 2014, announced its rebranding to BRS on October 5, 2022, with the stated goal of expanding its electoral footprint beyond Telangana. The name change was accompanied by a resolution passed during a party meeting in Hyderabad, signaling KCR’s intent to position the BRS as a national political force. According to reports from the time, the rebranding was marked by high-profile events, including a breakfast hosted by KCR for leaders of other regional parties like Janata Dal (Secular) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), indicating a broader political strategy.

Simultaneously, the BRS government launched a nationwide media campaign, reportedly spending Rs 240 crore on advertisements across newspapers, television channels, and digital platforms. These advertisements highlighted welfare schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, and the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, which the BRS touted as flagship initiatives. However, the FGG contends that the scale and timing of the campaign suggest it was designed to enhance the party’s visibility during its national rebranding rather than genuinely informing the public about welfare programs.

FGG’s Allegations

In its petition, the FGG alleges that the Rs 240 crore expenditure was disproportionate and lacked transparency. “The advertisements were released under the guise of publicizing government welfare schemes, but their timing, just as the TRS was rebranded to BRS, raises serious questions about their true purpose,” said M. Padmanabha Reddy, president of the FGG. “Public funds should serve the public, not the political interests of a party or its leader.”

The FGG points to the Telangana Department of Information and Public Relations, which oversees the dissemination of government advertisements, as the primary channel through which these funds were allocated. According to the Telangana State Portal, the department’s role is to create awareness about government policies and programs using multi-media systems. However, the FGG argues that the department’s mandate was exploited to funnel public money into a campaign that primarily served the BRS’s political agenda.

The petition also draws parallels with a separate controversy involving the state’s digital media wing, which reportedly spent Rs 13.85 crore in just eight months in 2023, a significant spike from its average annual expenditure of Rs 50 lakh. Sources indicate that the current Congress-led government is considering a Vigilance inquiry into that spending, suspecting that funds were diverted to the BRS’s election campaign. The FGG argues that the Rs 240 crore advertisement expenditure warrants similar scrutiny, given its scale and timing.

Political Reactions

The opposition BRS has dismissed the FGG’s petition as a politically motivated attack orchestrated by the ruling The advertisements were a legitimate effort to ensure these benefits reached every citizen,” he said, accusing the Congress of fabricating controversies to deflect from its own governance failures.

Conversely, the Congress has seized the opportunity to criticize the BRS’s financial management. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, speaking at a public meeting in Adilabad, accused the BRS of mismanaging state finances and prioritizing publicity over genuine welfare. “The BRS looted Telangana’s resources and used public money for self-promotion,” he alleged, citing the Rs 6.12 lakh crore debt inherited by the Congress government in December 2023.