Will Tirupati be BJP’s first stop in Andhra?

VIJAYAWADA: Winning Tirupati Lok Sabha bye-election, claiming as many seats as possible in the local body elections, and emerging as the main opposition -- this is the three-fold objective of the BJP state unit for 2021. While the Tirupati parliamentary by-election, self-admittedly, would be a litmus test for the party, which is attempting to consolidate the Hindu votes in the State, the saffron brigade is confident that the new year would bolster its prospects in Andhra Pradesh with Tirupati being its ‘first stop’.

Although the BJP leaders have been taking up various issues pertaining to the State, their major focus, according to the top leaders, who have been camping in Tirupati and have even rented houses there, is to give a tough fight to the ruling YSRC in the parliamentary bypoll. Accordingly, the party has been holding several meetings in the seven Assembly constituencies that make the Tirupati parliament segment.BJP State co-incharge Sunil Deodhar told TNIE that the party’s fight is only for the first place. “We will never fight for any other position other than first,” he asserted.

The party, which is in alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, is working with renewed vigour aiming ambitiously to repeat the magic of Dubbaka bypoll (Telangana) in AP under the leadership of Somu Veerraju. The saffron party, which is well aware of its prospects, is also of the view that it will be a victory even if it manages to trump the TDP and moves to the second position. “There is nothing for us to lose as the stakes have been low. So, any improvement is a success. If we manage to put up a tough fight, it will set the tone for local body elections and also make the BJP a stronger opposition,” a top leader said.