It is expected that he would administer a fresh dose of adrenaline in the party ahead of the state Assembly elections later this year.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah. (Twitter)
The simmering tensions in the BJP erupted into open protests in the Telangana unit of the BJP on Wednesday, 26 July — just days ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s 29 July visit to Hyderabad.
Party leaders are hoping that Shah’s visit — his first since Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy took over as the president of the Telangana BJP — will not only address the internal divisions, but also administer a fresh dose of adrenaline in the rank and file ahead of the state Assembly elections later this year.
After the removal of Bandi Sanjay Kumar from the post of the BJP state president, there has been a sudden deceleration in the party’s activities, and party insiders say it has left workers confused and dispirited.
As Bandi Sanjay, the MP from Karimnagar, who imparted a new thrust to the party, is not on the scene anymore, his supporters are also waiting to see what kind of role the party would assign him.
Several leaders from the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency created a ruckus at the state BJP office in Hyderabad, angry at MP Dharmapuri Arvind for replacing presidents of 13 mandal units of the party with his supporters.
Senior leaders of the BJP, on an edge over the sudden protest, took serious exception to the demonstration of indiscipline in a party that prides itself on organisational cohesiveness.
Irate leaders from Armoor, Balkonda, and Bodhan in the erstwhile Nizamabad district went to the office and raised slogans against Arvind, demanding the reinstatement of those who had been removed. They alleged that Arvind was rendering injustice to his own party leaders.
They could not be pacified even with the intervention of the senior leaders, including state secretary Prakash Reddy and party office secretary Uma Shankar. As the BJP workers raised slogans, tension prevailed for some time.
The dissident leaders in Nizamabad alleged that the removal of 13 presidents took place as part of Arinvd’s attempts to fortify his Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency. Over time, the party in the district has been divided into two camps, one supporting Arvind and the other opposing him.
For instance, BJP district president Basva Lakshminarasaiah wants to contest from the Nizamabad Urban Assembly constituency, but Arvind is understood to be encouraging Suryanarayana Gupta.
Similarly in the Armoor Assembly segment, there are two leaders competing for the party ticket. One is Vinay Reddy, who contested unsuccessfully in the last election, and a businessman, Rakesh Reddy.
In the Bodhan Assembly segment, apart from Prakash Reddy, rice miller Mohan Reddy also wants the party nomination. There has been a tussle between the two camps for dominance in the constituency.
The replacement of presidents of the party for the 13 mandals blew the lid off the squabbles which were subdued till now. Those who felt that Arvind’s men were a threat to them marched to the party’s office in Hyderabad.
Later, state party president Kishan Reddy spoke to the dissident leaders from Nizamabad and warned them against creating a ruckus at the party office.
After reading the riot act to them, he asked them to return to their district, which they did grudgingly.
Meanwhile, Arvind said that he had nothing to do with the replacement of the presidents of 13 mandals in his constituency.
There is speculation in the party as to what role Bandi Sanjay will play now that he is no longer the state unit president. His recent meeting with Amit Shah in Delhi seemed to suggest he would be accommodated in a position that would help the BJP’s prospects in the next elections.
Bandi Sanjay is essentially a grassroots man, always interacting with BJP workers as well as voters, and the party is likely to assign him a good position as his services would be required for the party to move forward.
While the rumblings in the party — which reached a zenith with dissident leaders, led by Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender, making their displeasure known — have died down, embers are reported to be smouldering in other leaders, unseen.
Recently, film actress and party national executive member Vijayashanti let out her frustration with the party through a tweet, objecting to the presence of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy — a recent lateral entrant from the Congress — at the function where Kishan Reddy took over as BJP president.
On Tuesday, she shot off another tweet condemning the outrage against two women in Manipur that was so subtly worded that it pointed more to lapses of the BJP government in Manipur than expressing concern over the lack of safety for women in the northeastern state.
Former MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy — who actively backed Eatala Rajender in the campaign to oust Bandi Sanjay — and legislator M Raghuanandan Rao, are also said to be ill at ease.
Though both of them have not made any controversial comments of late, it is as clear that they are not overly happy with the BJP. Insiders say the two leaders believe the party has not accorded them the recognition they deserve.
Some BJP leaders have proposed that it would suit the party’s interests if an announcement is made that the party’s chief minister’s candidate would be from the Backward Class (BC) communities — and if possible name him in advance.
As the possibility of a BC becoming the chief minister either from the Congress or the BRS is very remote, a declaration now would help the party’s prospects as the BCs comprise almost 55 percent of the state’s total population.
The state party leaders are also seeking to impress Amit Shah by lining up a few leaders of the Congress and the BRS for joining the BJP.
While the ruling BRS is going out of its way to woo the BCs, with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announcing several sops for the community, especially the Most Backward Classes (MBCs), the BJP’s own BC strategy appears to be in disarray.
The removal of Bandi Sanjay, who belonged to the electorally significant Munnuru Kapu BC community, and his replacement by a dominant caste Reddy has sent out mixed signals.
Although the BJP can still boast of a tall leader such as Eatala Rajender, who belongs to the Mudiraj caste, one of the prominent BC castes, it remains to be seen whether he is able to match Bandi Sanjay’s outreach in the state over the past two years.
Sources told South First that a former Congress MLA from Malkajgiri, Akula Rajender, and former MLC M Ranga Reddy might meet the Union home minister and join the BJP.
According to the tentative schedule, the Union minister will interact with the members of the Jain community and those hailing from Rajasthan, Gujarat, and other northern states.
A few industrialists, artists, and poets will be among those who are likely to meet Amit Shah.
He will also interact with office bearers, conveners of Assembly constituencies in Telangana, district presidents, and other key leaders to prepare them for the year-end Assembly elections in Telangana.
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