HYDERABAD: Enthused with the BJP capturing four of the five States in the north, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay is all set to commence his the second phase of ‘Praja Sangrama Yatra’ from Jogulamba Gadwal district in Telangana on April 14 to make the cadres battle-ready for the Assembly elections in the State in the later part of next year.
In an interview with the TNIE, Sanjay, who has completed two years in office as president of the party’s State unit, bared the size of the fight in him to take the TRS chieftain K Chandrasekhar Rao and MIM.
With 60-70 per cent of booth-level committees having been formed, which are functional across the State, he hopes to complete the task at the earliest.
He is counting on Congress’ decimation and discontent brewing among the TRS grassroots-level leaders in the State, which he feels, would feed into the vote bank of BJP.
“TRS sarpanches tell us that if not for Central funds, no development would have taken place in villages. Those who won unanimously say that they weren’t given a single penny, let alone Rs 5 lakh promised to them by the Chief Minister before elections to the gram panchayats,” Sanjay tells Express.
Sanjay’s claim of winning the Hyderabad parliamentary seat may seem like he may be daydreaming, but he is confident about mobilising not only Hindu votes, but also votes of Muslim women. The reason -- he strongly believes that Muslim women will vote on the lines of UP, because they share the opinion of Muslim intellectuals that MIM has been obstructing development of the Old City, whether it is Metro rail network, or development of public infrastructure.
He, however, still is a Hindutva hardliner, who asserts that he will be able to unify Hindus in Hyderabad, asserting that if voted to power, Bhagyalaxmi temple at Charminar would be built in a grand way, whether on the premises of the historic monument, or somewhere in the Old City.
Banking on the failures of TRS, Sanjay claims to have successfully enlightened the population of Telangana how one family has claimed credit for Telangana’s statehood.
“People didn’t know how much the Centre was giving to the State government and how that money was being diverted for other purposes. The State government has been claiming full credit all these years for paddy procurement. We raised movements and enlightened the people on each and every aspect, whether it is TRS’ failure to implement 2BHK scheme, jobs , podu lands and more. It has sparked the question in the people’s mind,” he observes.
Sanjay has repeatedly been claiming that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his family members in political positions would be arrested for perpetrating corruption in various projects. Though he stands by his word, he clarifies that CBI or ED wouldn’t be used as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given clear instructions that Central agencies shouldn’t be used for such missions and only through legal course people need to be brought to justice.
“The Chief Minister has been inciting the people by claiming that we would use CBI or ED. He wants to use Telangana sentiment to create sympathy for himself. But we have enough evidence and we will go legally,” Sanjay says, pointing out how BJP has exposed the false election affidavits of eight people’s representatives of TRS.
“Why have 40,000 plus GOs issued since 2014 not uploaded online? They want national project status for Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, but will not send detailed project reports to the Centre. Last year, when I questioned the Principal Secretary in the Urban Development Committee’s meeting about 2BHK houses, he had disclosed that only around 8,000 houses were built. They won’t submit the list of 2BHK beneficiaries to the Centre when asked. Now they have informed the Centre that they will not procure paddy in the present Rabi season,” Sanjay points out.
He confidently says that BJP workers who have been more aggressive than ever despite cases being filed against thousands, including non-bailable offence cases, will ultimately expose how the people of Telangana have been taken for a ride by a single family.
“We all are fighting rigorously for you braving attacks, false cases and imprisonment. The State government is neither implementing the Central schemes, nor has been paying its share, while diverting the funds. Due to this, development is elusive. The only way for Central funds to be properly utilised is to have a double-engine government here just like in Uttar Pradesh. Please give BJP a chance for change,” Sanjay appeals to the people.
Bandi Sanjay makes it clear that he is is counting on decimation of the Congress and the discontent brewing among the TRS grassroots-level leaders in the State, which he feels would feed into the vote bank of BJP, helping it capture power in Telangana