BJP concedes defeat much before electoral battle in Telangana

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has indirectly admitted that BJP does not stand a chance of coming to power in Telangana and that it would play the role of the main opposition

Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears to have thrown in the towel and conceded defeat to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) much before the electoral battle in Telangana. Comments from senior leader and Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari prove this.

Gadkari has indirectly admitted that his party does not stand a chance of coming to power in the State and that it would play the role of the main opposition. In a recent interview with a news agency on the upcoming assembly elections in five States later this year, including Telangana, Gadkari said the BJP would increase its tally and be the main opposition in Telangana.

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“We will get stronger in Telangana. We will rise to the level of the main opposition. If everything is compatible, better results will come,” he said.

In other words, Gadkari has accepted that BJP won’t be coming to power in the next elections. The Union minister’s comments have exposed the State leadership’s false claims that they would come to power in Telangana. In fact, after the Karnataka poll results, the BJP was pushed to the third place in the State, with the ruling BRS remaining the first choice, and the Congress, a distant second.

Gadkari’s claims have reportedly created a furore in the State leadership as the party is already in trouble due to internal rifts among senior leaders. According to party sources, Gadkari’s comments have not gone down well with the State leadership and they are planning to take the matter to the party high command.

Sources said the State leaders are furious over Gadkari’s comment as the party is struggling to keep its house in order and if such claims are made by senior leaders, it would only damage the image of the party further. Already party national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are not happy with the performances of the State leadership, with Gadkari’s comment now rubbing in the salt.

Meanwhile, former MP AP Jithender Reddy, who created a furore in the party with a ‘buffalo’ video suggesting a kick from behind for the BJP Telangana leadership, on Saturday set off another controversy by posting a sarcastic tweet against Dubbaka BJP MLA M Raghunandan Rao.

Jithender Reddy, ridiculing Raghunandan Rao’s demand to appoint him as national spokesperson tweeted a video of Rao talking to the media, and said: “Proud of your voice. I support you as national spokesperson.” Raghunandan Rao had raised a banner of revolt against State BJP president Bandi Sanjay, saying he was sidelined in the party and denied the post of national spokesperson.

The Twitter posts have further exposed the ever deepening crisis in the BJP’s Telangana unit, with leaders now coming out in the open on what they feel about Bandi’s leadership and about each other as well.