BJP keen to rope in top SC leaders

Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is reportedly moving cleverly to consolidate the party and emerge as an alternative to ruling TRS before next Assembly elections in 2023.

According to sources, after succeeding in luring a handful of leaders from Reddy community from different political parties recently, the saffron party is eyeing to bring big leaders from SC community into the party fold. In Telangana, the Scheduled Caste community accounts nearly 20 per cent of the total population.

After the formation of Telangana State, the major sub caste Madigas in SC community shifted their loyalties to the TRS. Traditionally, Madigas in Telangana used to rally behind the Congress for decades. Amid speculation that TRS former leader G Vivek is likely to join the BJP, Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) founder president Manda Krishna Madiga called on BJP senior leader and Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy here on Sunday. Speaking to media after the meeting, Krishna said he requested the Union Minister to pursue the issue of long pending categorisation of SC into four groups ensuring reservation benefits reach the deserved in proportionate to the population.

Krishna already met several BJP national leaders including Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on SC categorisation and apprised them of the pathetic living condition of Madiga community in Telangana. The BJP leaders said a separate political strategy is being worked out to lure majority SC community in Telangana in a phased manner. The BJP leadership will hold series of meetings with the representatives of Madiga community and assure them of addressing their issues and also giving more political opportunities in the party.

The BJP leaders said TRS chief and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao extended his support to Madigas' demand for SC categorisation but failed on all fronts including empowerment of the community. Now, BJP will stand behind the community and fight against the State government.

The demand for SC categorisation issue was already put before the BJP high command by the State party unit. The party will come out with a statement and declare the party stand soon on categorisation issue after studying pros and cons at the national level. Many SC organisations in the country are opposing the categorisation of SC.