Telangana: Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy disillusioned with functioning of BJP

Rajgopal Reddy recently told journalists that the party leadership was not using his services properly to strengthen the party in Telangana

Hyderabad: Former Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, who joined the BJP amid much fanfare six months ago, now appears to be disillusioned with the functioning of the BJP. The way he was welcomed into the Saffron party by its top leadership, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rajgopal Reddy was expecting the party to give him some key responsibility, but all his aspirations and plans have shattered. He is pained that though six months have passed the party central leadership has not given him any kind of responsibility.

Rajgopal Reddy, who is facing allegations of his company getting a massive Rs 18,000 crore contract return he joined BJP, recently told journalists that the party leadership was not using his services properly to strengthen the party in the State. He was of the opinion that the party State leadership failed to use the support he got during Munugode by-poll to strengthen BJP in the State. “Though I lost the by-poll, the support the party got created confidence among the cadres. But unfortunately the party leadership could not use it in strengthening the party,” he is stated to have told his followers.

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He was very critical about the BJP leadership as it failed to take crucial decisions after the Munugode by-poll results, following which the party could not reach out to the people the way it should have. “Now that BJP has lost Karnataka there is a lot of enthusiasm in both Congress and BRS. It will be very difficult for us to regain the lost grounds,” he shared his observations with followers.

Rajgopal Reddy is also of the opinion that the Hindi heartland strategies such as polarisation and Hindutva would not work in South India and that the BJP needs to adopt a different game plan to take on a strong opponent like Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. “We need a leader who could take on the Chief Minister. Hindi heartland politics will not work in Telangana. We have seen what happened in Karnataka,” he reportedly remarked.

On the issue of change in leadership in the state unit, Rajgopal Reddy said that it was up to the party to decide on it, but there was an urgent need to have leaders who could give direction to cadres. He accepted that a lot of Congress leaders contacted him after Karnataka poll results and urged him to rejoin the party. “I have no plans to leave the party. My only goal is to throw KCR out of power,” he said.