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Rumblings continue in Telangana BJP, ahead of elections
Amidst these controversies, there were speculations in the party on Friday that the high command might replace Bandi Sanjay as the state BJP president with another senior leader next week
HyderabadRumblings of discontent continue to surface in the Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, even as the party’s national leadership stepped in to prevent the exodus of some disgruntled seniors into the Congress.
On Thursday, another senior Telangana BJP leader and lawmaker from Dubbak assembly constituency, M Raghunandan Rao, raised a banner of revolt against state BJP president Bandi Sanjay, saying he was sidelined in the party.
He told a section of local reporters that even the national BJP leadership had turned a deaf ear to his representations and suggestions. He said he had represented to national BJP president JP Nadda during the latter’s visit to Telangana on June 25 that he was not happy with the way the state BJP leadership was ignoring him.
He said though he was not considered for the BJP floor leader post which had been lying vacant ever since Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh was stripped of the post in August 2022 following his blasphemous comments against Prophet Mohammad.
The Dubbak MLA said though he had asked for responsible positions in the party like national BJP spokesperson post, it was not considered. “Though I have been constantly attacking the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi government, I have not got any recognition in the party,” he said.
He wondered why the national BJP ignored him, while calling disgruntled leaders, such as Eatala Rajender and Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, to Delhi for talks last week.
A senior BJP leader close to Sanjay said on condition of anonymity that Raghunandan Rao was preparing ground for leaving the party. “We are aware that he has been in regular touch with the BRS, which is his parent party, for quite some time. He has not been actively participating in the state BJP activities these days,” he said.
Meanwhile, another senior BJP leader from Telangana and ex-MP A P Jithender Reddy also kicked up a controversy on Thursday by tweeting a video along with a sarcastic comment on the state of affairs in the state BJP.
The video shows some buffaloes being herded into a truck with a man kicking one of the buffaloes from behind to get it moving. “The treatment is what’s required for BJP Telangana leadership,” Reddy, who is also a member of BJP national executive committee, commented along with the video.
He also tagged BJP’s national leaders BL Santosh, Sunil Bansal and the BJP’s official Twitter handles, to his post. When it created an uproar in the party, he posted another tweet clarifying that what he meant was the treatment that should be given to detractors of Bandi Sanjay within the party.
BJP official spokesperson K Krishnasagar Rao on Friday strongly objected to such statements and tweets. “They seem to be forgetting the party they are currently representing. The BJP is not like the Congress or the BRS. It doesn’t have the culture or a system of indulging in public criticism of the party and its leadership,” he said.
He pointed out that almost all leaders who are making these statements are members either in top state or national committees of the party, and have plenty of opportunities to express their discontent, if any. “This kind of unruliness and indiscipline is unacceptable in our party,” he said.
On Friday, BJP MLA Eatala Rajender also found fault with the former MP for posting such controversial tweets. “He should explain why he made such a comment on the social media and what his intention is,” he said.
Amidst these controversies, there were speculations in the party on Friday that the high command might replace Bandi Sanjay as the state BJP president with another senior leader next week.
A BJP leader privy to the development said the high command was contemplating inducting Sanjay into the Union council of ministers and giving him minister of state (MoS) berth in the proposed cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“In his place, the party would bring in another senior leader, who can take all sections of leaders along with him and prevent dissidence in the party,” the leader quoted above said.
