Nothing seems rosy for the party which aspires to sit on the throne in the state and it appears to be in hot water. In a bid to gain a strong foothold in Telangana, a few years back, the BJP zeroed in on the name of Bandi Sanjay as its state unit president. And, everything has been downhill for the party since then, save for two bypolls where the party trounced the opponents due to the personal charisma of candidates.
Both Sanjay’s words and deeds are placing the party in trouble with each passing day. Sanjay, who often makes controversial comments, is bringing defame to the party. And, his inexperience in handling the party affairs stands thoroughly exposed time and again with his half-baked decisions.
Recently, Bandi Sanjay appointed assembly constituency in-charges of all 119 segments in the state. These appointments were haphazard, to say the least. To quote a few examples, former MLA Yendala Laxminarayana from Nizamabad was made in-charge of the L.B Nagar assembly seat which falls under the GHMC limits and Banda Karthika Reddy, Hyderabad’s former mayor was given the responsibility of Nizamabad Urban constituency. The leaders are not only disappointed with the decision but it is practically difficult for them to move away from their home turf and strengthen the party elsewhere.
Hardly a year away from the assembly elections, one would expect and assume that most of the recently-appointed in-charges would be the candidates in the upcoming polls. But, Sunil Bansal, BJP’s Telangana in-charge threw a bombshell. He made it clear that these in-charges won’t be the candidates in the assembly elections. Sanjay started clutching at straws to sail through this situation.
In July, when Amit Shah visited Hyderabad, it was reported that some senior leaders in the party made a complaint that the party’s leadership was not accommodative. In April, during the Praja Sangrama Yatra taken up by Sanjay in Medak district, Dubbak MLA Raghunandan Rao openly stated he was not invited to the yatra.
Also, the party is facing internal tussles between the new entrants and the old-timers. Recently, one of the senior leaders in the party with an RSS background who worked in North-Eastern states for the party has tweeted about the change in the functioning of the party. He was disheartened by the way the state unit is giving preference to the wealthy candidates over the hardworking cadre.
All these political developments give a clear indication that discontentment of sorts is brewing in the saffron brigade. Adding fuel to the fire is the latest defections and desertions from the party. Many leaders who joined the BJP in the recent past are shifting their loyalties alleging that though the BJP promised alternative politics it was resorting to disgusting politics and it is heading nowhere.
A looming defeat in the Munugode bypoll is just the tip of the iceberg. The internal bickering and senior leaders leaving the party all point towards the one-upmanship of president Bandi Sanjay and his inability to lead. And, their dream to capture power in Telangana seems an uphill task.