HYDERABAD: With an eye on the next Assembly polls, the BJP national leadership has strategically targeted the main Opposition parties in both Telugu-speaking States in composing the national committee.
The idea of the BJP is to weaken the Opposition parties first in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, so that it will emerge as an alternative to the ruling parties before the Assembly polls.
With this strategy, the BJP national leadership included several new faces in the national committee.
“The Kamma and Reddy communities as well as numerically strong BCs in both AP and Telangana are now looking towards the BJP,” a party functionary felt.
The new committee would help strengthen Narendra Modi’s hands, said OBC Morcha chairman K Laxman.
“I am sure that the BJP will come to power in Telangana in the next Assembly elections,” said the new vice-president DK Aruna.
As most Reddys are rallying behind the Congress in Telangana, former Minister DK Aruna, a Reddy, was made national vice-president. Aruna moved to the BJP from the Congress just before the Assembly elections in 2019.
Interestingly, the BJP dropped general secretary P Muralidhar Rao from the national committee. The reason behind this is that he was unable to attract Velama community people into the party during his long stint as general secretary.
Currently, most Velamas support the ruling TRS in Telangana. As a BC leader and Karimnagar MP, Bandi Sanjay Kumar was elected recently as Telangana BJP president, his predecessor and BC leader K Laxman has been made national president of OBC Morcha. In Andhra Pradesh too, the spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao was dropped from the national committee and the party made Daggubati Purandeswari national general secretary.
The Kammas mainly support the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh. Though, Purandeswari was TDP founder NT Rama Rao’s daughter, she had differences with the present TDP president and Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu. She is expected to attract Kammas into the BJP. Another leader from AP, Satya Kumar has been made national secretary.
Speaking to Express, OBC Morcha president K Laxman said that he would tour the entire country to draw weaker sections towards the BJP. He said that the population of BCs was 50 per cent in AP and TS and he would strive to get their support for the BJP in the next elections.
Vice-president DK Aruna exuded confidence that the BJP would capture power in Telangana in the next Assembly elections. She thanked Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda for giving her the role.
However, dropping senior leader Muralidhar Rao from the national committee became a debatable point in the State BJP circles. Muralidhar Rao worked as in-charge for both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. An RSS worker, he was deputed to BJP in 2009, when Rajnath Singh was BJP president.
He was made national secretary in 2010 by the then president Nitin Gadkari. He was elevated to general secretary in 2013. However, party sources feel that Muralidhar Rao may be given another major responsibility soon.
The Velama catch
It is believed that the BJP dropped P Muralidhar Rao as he was unable to attract Velamas (who mainly favour the TRS) into the party during his long stint as national general secretary.