HYDERABAD: In what is being seen as the BJP central leadership’s final overture to suspended BRS leaders Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao, none other than Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda will be addressing public meetings in Khammam and Nagarkurnool Parliament segments on June 15 and 25 respectively.
Though the sources say that the public meetings are being planned in places where the saffron party hasn’t had much support base in the past, people can infer from the recent political developments in the State that Amit Shah attending the public meeting in Khammam is aimed at negotiating with Srinivasa Reddy to welcome him into the party fold and Nadda attending the meeting in Nagarkurnool as the final effort to seal the deal with Krishna Rao.
There is also talk of Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a roadshow in Telangana later this month and sources say that the two tall leaders may be inducted into the party during the PM’s visit, provided the leadership manages to convince the duo to join the saffron fold. If it does happen, it will be seen as a major victory for Eatala Rajender, the chairperson of the party’s joinings committee.
Both Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao enjoy considerable support bases in the constituencies which they have represented and are capable of influencing the politics and voters of some other constituencies in their regions.
It may be mentioned here that during his last visit to Hyderabad, PM Modi reportedly told Rajender to not leave no stone unturned in welcoming the two leaders into the BJP. There is a talk in the political circles that Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao delaying their decision to join either BJP or Congress will only erode their support base as people of Telangana look at ‘godameeda pilli’ (cat on the wall or fence-sitter) as someone who cannot be trusted.