HYDERABAD: The victory in Dubbaka bypoll and the exponential increase in vote share in GHMC elections have been working like a magic potion for the BJP leaders, cleared the decks for the “home coming” of film actress Vijayashanti.
She met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Sunday. Vijayashanti was ill at ease in the Congress for quite some time now and with the party’s fortunes a downward spiral, she decided to take the leap of faith.
Vijayashanti, in fact, began her political career with the BJP about two decades ago as president of the Mahila Morcha, but broke away from it later on and floated Talli Telangana to strike a chord with Telangana people in the heady days of Telangana movement. Later, unable to gain any traction, she merged her party in TRS where KCR accorded her the position of party secretary general. In 2009 Lok Sabha election, she won from Medak on TRS ticket.
Incidentally, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy are also in Delhi, to meet top leaders and explain to them how the party made smart gains in the GHMC elections. The party national leadership which is impressed with its performance wants to guide it ahead of the by-election to Nagarjunasagar Assembly seat which has fallen vacant after the death of incumbent N Narasimhaiah.
The party leaders might apprise the national leadership of their attempts to land more number of fish from the Congress, particularly former Minister K Jana Reddy for the Nagarjunasagar seat, which he won in 2014 elections. The party is said to be trying to win over former minister A Chandrasekhar also, who is now not very active in the Congress. To a question at a press meet, BJP senior leader Dr K Laxman said even ministers were looking at BJP with growing interest as it has now emerged as a doughty contender for power in the 2023 Assembly elections.