Rumblings within Telangana BJP get louder

According to a report in national news agency IANS, the BJP's Telangana unit appears to be facing problems in fighting the poll battle as a cohesive unit

Hyderabad: The inner rumblings in the Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party are getting louder, though the Assembly elections are just a few months away.

According to a report in national news agency IANS, the BJP’s State unit appears to be facing problems in fighting the poll battle as a cohesive unit. The differences, the report said, came to the fore once again earlier this week when a section of leaders left for Khammam to meet former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Jupalli Krishna Rao to invite them to join the BJP, without informing the State president Bandi Sanjay and other senior leaders.

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The BJP’s joining committee led by its chairman and Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender and some other leaders met Srinivas Reddy and Krishna Rao. Bandi Sanjay, the report says, had no information about the visit of this group. As word spread about the conflict between the two groups and media persons posed a question to him, Sanjay gave an explanation which actually hints at a lack of coordination among leaders, the report says.

“I had no information about the meeting as I recently lost my mobile phone,” said Sanjay, going on to add that there was nothing wrong with Eatala and others meeting anyone who has good relations with them. The report says some leaders loyal to Sanjay were unhappy that he was not informed about the meeting beforehand and wanted protocol to have been followed.

This is not the first time that the BJP is witnessing acrimony in its camp. Recently BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri had come out openly against Sanjay’s derogatory remarks against BRS MLC K Kavitha, saying that he did not agree with Bandi’s remarks. Former BJP national executive member and senior leader Perala Shekhar Rao too had come out against Sanjay’s comments. He warned that such things would damage the party during the Assembly elections. A section of the leaders feel that Sanjay’s immature and inappropriate words, dictatorship and undemocratic ways may damage the party’s prospects.

The issue of Arvind’s public criticism of the BJP State president is said to have reached the party’s central leadership. In March, BJP national president JP Nadda, Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh and Telangana in-charge Tarun Chugh held a meeting with State party leaders including Arvind, the report says, adding that the central leadership made it clear to the State leaders that there was no room for different camps within the party. Amit Shah reportedly told the State leadership that if the BJP has to come to power in Telangana, it will have to fight like a cohesive unit.

However, this appears to be a tough task for the BJP, which has more than these two groups, with another section of leaders supporting Union minister G Kishan Reddy while yet another section supports Eatala Rajender.