BJP Siddipet president in row over backing Congress candidate

A leaked phone call of BJP Siddipet president Bairi Shankar Mudiraj asking workers to back Congress leader Neelam Madhu in local body polls has triggered unrest. Party cadre are demanding his suspension, accusing him of anti-party activities

Siddipet: A purported telephone call of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president Bairi Shankar Mudiraj has exposed internal differences in the saffron party, as he was heard suggesting the Mudiraj community to vote for Congress leader Neelam Madhuraj’s loyalists in the upcoming local body elections.

While the Election Commission was preparing to issue notifications for the local body elections, the conversation of the district BJP president left the cadre in confusion. During a phone call with party workers, Shankar Mudiraj is heard asking them to support Congress leader Neelam Madhu, who contested unsuccessfully against BJP MP M Raghunandan Rao in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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Though both Madhu and Shankar belong to rival parties, Shankar reportedly asked the Mudiraj community to support Madhu’s candidature. He drew flak from the BJP cadre for his alleged anti-party activities. Even after his appointment, several party leaders had submitted representations to state party leadership complaining that Shankar was not capable of leading the party.

Though MP Raghunandan Rao made several attempts to sort out the issue, they have failed to yield results so far. Instead, the matter has created further differences. The party cadre is now preparing to meet state leadership to demand his suspension from the party with immediate effect.

Some party workers have accused Shankar of being a covert agent for the Congress, pointing to his phone conversation as evidence. They warned that such activities will destabilise the party unless action is initiated against him. Cadre fear that such developments will create confusion among loyal workers.