Hyderabad, May 7 () Assembly elections in Telangana are just a few months away. In such a situation, the state unit of BJP is facing difficulties in fighting the election battle as a united unit.
Though the BJP is claiming that it is the only viable alternative to the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and is confident of coming to power, internal dissensions are being seen among various factions in the BJP camp.
Differences came to the fore again this week when a section of leaders called on former MPs Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao to meet them in Khammam to invite them to join the BJP without informing the party’s state president Bandi Sanjay and other senior leaders. Went.
Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender, chairman of the committee to induct leaders into the BJP, and some other leaders who are new to the party met Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao.
Prisoner Sanjay had no information about his visit. Sanjay’s clarification on the question of media persons about the conflict between the two groups made it clear that there is a lack of coordination between the party leaders.
He said, I had no information about the meeting as I had lost my mobile recently. Sanjay had lodged a police complaint last week that he had lost his phone during his arrest in the SSC paper leak case.
Sanjay further said that there is nothing wrong if Eatala and others meet people who have good relations with them.
Some leaders loyal to Bandi Sanjay were unhappy that they were not informed about the meeting in advance. The development comes amid reports of a rift between the old and the new leaders.
Eatala left the BRS in 2021 and joined the BJP after being dropped from the state cabinet. He also resigned as MLA and won the by-election in Huzurabad with a huge margin as a BJP candidate on the strength of his personal popularity.
Last year, the BJP leadership made him the chairman of the joining committee, which is tasked with holding talks with leaders of other parties to invite them to the saffron party.
Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao were recently suspended by the BRS for anti-party activities. Hence, Eatala and others held talks to persuade him to join the saffron party.
The two reportedly did not give any assurance during the meeting that lasted for over five hours, but promised to reveal their final decision very soon. BJP MLA Raghunandan Rao, former Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and former MLA Enugu Ravinder Reddy were present in the meeting.
Political analysts say the rift between veteran leaders and newcomers is a troubling trend in the BJP. Its leaders used to mock the Congress for infighting between old loyalists and leaders from other parties, but the saffron party itself is now facing a similar situation.
This is not the first time that infighting is being witnessed in the BJP camp. Recently BJP MP Arvind Dharampuri daughter of Chief Minister KCR and BRS leader K. Bundy had come out in open against Sanjay’s alleged derogatory remarks against Kavita. The Nizamabad MP had said that he did not agree with Bandi’s remarks.
This was a blow to the party as Arvind is a bitter critic of Chief Minister KCR and his family. In 2019, he had defeated MP Kavita in Nizamabad.
Arvind’s finding fault with Sanjay’s remarks came as a surprise to the BJP and indicated a difference of opinion between the leaders.
Former BJP national executive member and senior leader Perala Sekhar Rao also came out against Sanjay’s comments. He warned that such talk would harm the party during the assembly elections.
BRS leaders alleged that Sanjay made a derogatory statement against Kavita, asking if Kavita would be kissed if she was not arrested. He was referring to the Delhi Liquor Policy case in which he has been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Women leaders of BRS have lodged a complaint with the police. The BJP leader was also summoned and pulled up by the State Commission for Women.
In March, BJP National President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP General Secretary Organization B.L. Santosh and Telangana in-charge Tarun Chugh held a meeting with state party leaders including Arvind.
Taking cognizance of the uproar, the central leadership made it clear to the state leaders that there was no room for different camps within the party.
Amit Shah reportedly told the state leadership that if the BJP has to come to power in Telangana, it will have to fight as a united unit.
Bandi Sanjay enjoys the confidence of top BJP leaders as under his leadership the party won two assembly bypolls, put up a strong fight in the third bypoll and also significantly improved its position in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
Political analysts say that in view of the recent developments, the BJP’s central leadership can give a clear warning to the factions to forget their differences and focus on fighting the elections unitedly.
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