BJP’s position in North Telangana turns weak
In 2020 and 2021, communal riots took place in North Telangana’s Bhainsa and Mudhole towns, which BJP candidates won in the Assembly polls.
Hyderabad: After winning seven seats in the assembly elections in the Northern Telangana region, the BJP was expecting to do well in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, but it looks like the saffron party may not get the benefit of the Assembly performance as a majority of the votes in the region is likely to swing towards the BRS and the Congress.
Of the 51 assembly seats in the Northern Telangana region, 33 were won by the Congress, 11 by BRS and 7 by the BJP in the assembly polls. A possible shift of BJP votes towards the Congress and the BRS could play spoilsport in the BJP’s hopes of cashing in on the gains it made in the assembly polls.
Apart from this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on Muslims and the war of words that broke out between the BJP and the Congress over weaker section reservations, were likely to affect the prospects of the party in the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP has been banking on communal polarisation in Northern Telangana to secure votes of the majority community.
In 2020 and 2021, communal riots took place in North Telangana’s Bhainsa and Mudhole towns, which BJP candidates won in the Assembly polls. However, the situation has totally changed after Prime Minister Modi’s harsh remarks against the Muslims.
The Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituencies have a sizable population of Muslim voters and could decide the fate of the candidates.
Sources in the party say with aggressive campaigning against the Muslim community by the BJP top leadership, the Muslim votes are likely to shift towards Congress and the Hindu votes would be splitted among the BRS, Congress and the BJP, causing huge loss to the saffron party. Though the BJP candidates are putting a brave face in public and expressing confidence of winning seats, the ground reality is entirely different.
There are reports that the position of BJP candidates in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad was very weak and that the going would be really tough for them.
In Adilabad, the BJP MLAs and local leaders are opposing the candidature of G Nagesh and a majority of them have reportedly refused to work for the candidate. Similar conditions are prevailing in Nizamabad too.
Local BJP leaders are said to be not wholeheartedly working for the victory of Arvind Dharmapuri. In the last one year, several BJP leaders have also left the party and joined opposition parties.
Arvind lost from the Korutla assembly segment as a majority of the BJP workers reportedly did not cooperate with him. Even Bandi Sanjay’s position in Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat is not so encouraging as he is facing a tough competition from Congress and BRS candidates.
It is evident that there has been a major shift of Muslim votes towards Congress and the BRS, putting the BJP in a weak position in North Telangana.
