Power tussle in Telangana BJP; seniors and new entrants at loggerheads

Leaders who joined the party recently from rival parties is bothering the party as these new entrants are reportedly trying to gain supremacy

Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party‘s headaches from internal turmoil appear to be far from over.

Even as the party leadership is trying hard to control the infighting and groupism within the party, the issue of leaders who joined the party recently from rival parties is bothering the party as these new entrants are reportedly trying to gain supremacy within the party.

---

The BJP leaders are facing a fight from within as local leaders and cadre have been feeling left out with several new entrants to the saffron unit seemingly stealing the limelight.

A battle between new entrants in the party and “original” leaders has come to the fore with the latter strongly opposing the importance being given to the former. They are pained that the central leadership including union Home Minister Amit Shah was encouraging new entrants and directly contacting them to discuss important matters related to Telangana.

Though the central leadership held several consultation meetings to mend the torn fabric of unity among leaders, the State unit leaders are continuing to indulge in power struggles and internal bickering.

Several senior BJP leaders are complaining that those leaders who joined from other political parties are trying to dominate senior leaders and cadres and creating power centres within the party.

In fact, the senior leaders are seeing leaders joining from other parties as a threat to their dominance over the party.

According to party sources, the BJP’s senior State leaders are not happy with the functioning of Huzurabad MLA Etala Rajender, who had joined the saffron party from BRS, former Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and former Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, as they are reportedly trying to dominate senior leaders in the party.

The cold war between Bandi Sanjay and Rajender is already out in the open, especially after Rajender, along with M Raghunandan Rao, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and former MLA Enugu Ravinder Reddy met former BRS MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and former BRS MLA Jupalli Krishna Rao, who were dismissed from the party for anti-party activities, in Khammam to invite them to join the BJP without the knowledge of Bandi Sanjay.

Rajender too has reportedly been expressing displeasure over the functioning style of Sanjay and had allegedly brought this to the notice of the central leadership. It is said that he felt that though he was made the BJP’s joining committee chairman, he was not being allowed to function independently.

Meanwhile, party sources say a group of key leaders have raised a banner of revolt against Sanjay and want the party high command to replace him with Etala. This apart, Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind’s open criticism of Sanjay’s style of functioning too is fresh in the minds of the party cadre.

The saffron leadership is worried as after losing power in Karnataka, the BJP cannot afford the infighting in its Telangana unit as it makes efforts to capture the important Southern State.