Amit Shah plans to strengthen BJP in south

The process begins with his two-day visit to Hyderabad

• Succeeds in wooing frustrated Reddys, admits the former DGP into BJP

Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah’s two-day visit to Hyderabad comes with an agenda. Its priority has been to carry momentum from the general election into states later this year, notably in Telangana (civic body elections), Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi. After the looming state elections comes a long-term programme: broadening the BJP’s appeal beyond its heartland states in India’s north and west to make it a truly national party. During his visit, after assuming office as the BJP’s national chief, Amit Shah is expected to formulate a road map to strengthen the party in the Telangana state apart from focusing on regaining its strength in the twin cities.

The next government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre would be formed with the backing of the southern part of the country and the new state of Telangana would lead the way, Shah said.

During his stay here, Shah, who played a major role in bringing the party to power at the Centre, is expected to prepare strategies for the Medak and the GHMC polls. Shah’s first visit to Hyderabad as party president provided a perfect timing for its party workers, who had faced the effects of much of the communal polarisation in the past. In one of his speeches in Hyderabad, he said that the present BJP government was formed due to northern states and hoped that the BJP would win majority of seats in the southern states during next general elections. He also asked BJP workers to gear up for the GHMC elections scheduled to be held by the year end.

Amit Shah plans to gain strength in the south and has initiated the process from Telangana. If sources are to be believed he is expanding by playing the Reddy vs Rao community card. His first major move was to appease the Reddy community by admitting Dinesh Reddy, the former DGP of united Andhra in BJP. In another speech, Amit Shah said that it was the Gujarati Sardar Vallabhai Patel who had liberated the region from the Nizam in 1948 and it will be another Gujrati Narendra Modi, who will spur the growth of Telangana. The BJP chief will need to adopt new skills to manage his public image. As BJP president he will remain as Modi’s shield but more than ever under the glare of public scrutiny in the south, as he has big plans of expansion.