Adilabad BJP leaders oppose Nagesh’s entry

The induction of former BRS MP G Nagesh into the BJP has not gone down well with local party leaders in Adilabad district, with several leaders rushing Delhi to request the party leadership not to allot the Adilabad Lok Sabha ticket to Nagesh.

Hyderabad: The induction of former BRS MP G Nagesh into the BJP has not gone down well with local party leaders in Adilabad district, with several leaders rushing Delhi to request the party leadership not to allot the Adilabad Lok Sabha ticket to Nagesh.

Sources in the party said former MP Ramesh Rathod, former MLA Bapu Rao Rathod and several BJP leaders from Adilabad have reached Delhi on Monday and are trying to meet BJP national general secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh to request him not to allot the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat to Nagesh, who joined the party on Sunday. They wanted the party leadership to allot the Adilabad ticket to a leader belonging to the Lambada community. They reportedly told the State leadership that if the ticket was allotted to Nagesh, leaders belonging to the Lambada community would work against him and ensure his defeat.

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Interestingly, these leaders are also opposing the candidature of sitting BJP MP Soyam Bapu Rao, who belongs to the adivasi community like Nagesh. Following opposition from local leaders, the BJP leadership has kept the selection of candidates for the Adilabad seat on hold. Meanwhile, Soyam Bapu Rao has made it clear that he would contest the poll, whether the BJP leadership gives him a ticket or not. He had even warned that if he failed to secure a ticket, he would see that the BJP candidate was defeated.

The conflict between Lambada and Adivasi leaders has once again come to fore with the former making efforts to take control over Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency. Bapu Rao, an Adivasi activist, led a rally of thousands of Adivasis at the Ram Leela Maidan, in Delhi, on December 9, 2019 demanding the declassification of the Lambada community from Telangana’s list of Scheduled Tribes.

Last year too, Bapu Rao submitted a memorandum to union Home Minister Amit Shah with a similar demand which created a stir among the Lambada community. The party now fears that Bapu Rao will play the adivasi card to unite his community people to win the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He used similar tactics to win during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP State leadership is in a fix as if it allots the Adilabad ticket to a Lambada leader, the adivasi communities could vote against its candidate and if a ticket is given to an Adivasi leader, the Lambadas could vote against it.