Change of Telangana BJP chief may not yield results- Analysts feel

Hyderabad: The appointment of Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy as the new President of Telangana unit of the BJP is not likely to yield political dividends for the party in the state, where elections are due later this year, as per political analysts.

The central leadership of BJP has yielded to the pressure from two MLAs and some other leaders to remove incumbent Bandi Sanjay just 4-5 months before the elections.

The move is seen as an attempt to placate MLAs Eatala Rajender, Raghunandan Rao and some others who had reportedly threatened to switch loyalties to the Congress, which appears to be on the path of revival in the state.

Political analysts say the sacking of Bandi Sanjay may, in fact, hit the morale of his supporters within the party as he is seen as the leader who gave momentum to the party during the last three years.

Sanjay, a Member of Parliament from Karimnagar, was appointed as Telangana BJP President in March 2020, replacing K. Laxman. Known as a rabble-rouser, Sanjay played a key role in strengthening the party. It was under his leadership that the party won two Assembly by-elections and replaced Congress as the main opposition party.

“The BJP was nowhere in the state before Sanjay became the party President. He was a street fighter and the party gained momentum under his leadership,” said analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy.

He pointed out that almost all key leaders of BJP had served as state President of the party. Kishan Reddy had served as BJP President of united Andhra Pradesh from 2010 to 2014 and as Telangana unit chief from 2014 to 2016.

“None of the state BJP presidents could create the kind of momentum which Bandi Sanjay created,” he said.

The BJP, which could win just a single seat in 2018 Assembly elections with Kishan Reddy himself tasting defeat, got a major boost in 2019 when it won four Lok Sabha seats, apparently riding on the Modi wave. Interestingly, Kishan Reddy was elected from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency and became a minister at the Centre.

Sanjay, who was till then considered a small time leader in Karimnagar, came into prominence by winning the Lok Sabha seat. A year later he became the party President.

A strong Hindutva supporter and a bitter critic of Chief Minister KCR and his family, Sanjay, with his aggressive style, built the BJP. The same year, the BJP shocked the TRS by wresting Dubbaka Assembly seat in the by-elections. This was followed by the party’s impressive show in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections as it improved its tally in 150-member civic body to 48 from just four earlier.

The party emerged as the main challenge to the ruling BRS and it started projecting itself as the only viable alternative to KCR's party.

With the central leadership sensing a big opportunity in Telangana, the party started working with Mission 2023 to capture power. When Eatala Rajender quit the BRS after he was dropped from Cabinet by KCR in 2021, the BJP invited him to join the party. His victory in Huzurabad by-election was seen as a shot in the arm for the party.

The BJP got further boost last year with Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy resigned from the party to join the saffron camp. He tried to repeat Huzurabad in Munugode but was unsuccessful as the BRS wrested the seat.

Meanwhile, Bandi Sanjay in a philosophical tweet said, " philosophical tweet on Tuesday saying "Some chapters in our lives have to close without closure."