New Delhi: The BJP is hard put to keep its flock together in poll-bound Telangana in the face of simmering resentment between state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and disgruntled leaders Eatala Rajender and K. Raj Gopal Reddy.
In a second attempt within two months to broker peace between Bandi and the state unit’s “Eatala faction”, of which Reddy is said to be a part, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda met the two groups separately in New Delhi over the last few days.
BJP sources told ThePrint that Shah, who met Eatala and Reddy Saturday, asked them “to shun differences and work unitedly” for the ouster of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in Telangana.
Similarly, Shah and Nadda met Bandi Tuesday and asked him to make peace with the warring faction and involve all leaders in a united fight against the BRS, the sources said.
Eatala is BJP’s Huzurabad MLA who was earlier in the BRS and was considered a confidant of chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR). He joined the BJP in 2021. Reddy, a former MLA and MP, too, joined the BJP after parting ways with the Congress.
The BJP high command’s instructions come amid an aggressive Congress campaign in Telangana and rumours that Reddy and Eatala could desert the party.
Both leaders have recently not participated in party meetings in the state and even skipped Nadda’s rally in Telangana Sunday, raising apprehensions over their growing disenchantment with the party.
Saturday’s meeting between the senior BJP leaders and Eatala also came about after Nadda made “back to back calls to Eatala to visit New Delhi for a consultation”, said party sources.
The sources added that for part of the meeting, Eatala and Reddy expressed concern to the high command about the perception among the party’s Telangana cadre that the BJP was “going soft on the BRS” and that an “understanding” had taken place between the two parties.
The meeting was also attended by BJP’s state in-charges Sunil Bansal and Tarun Chugh, and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy.
Speaking to ThePrint Sunday, Eatala said: “The BJP high command is aware of the party’s situation in the state. We discussed several issues with the high command, including the roadmap for the polls and the perception battle. They also have to make a decision on my role in the party. Time is running out.”
Reddy told ThePrint that “we have raised several issues with the home minister and given our honest feedback”. “We have conveyed that there is still time to change strategy in the state and correct mistakes,” he added.
Last month, too, Eatala had approached Shah along with a group of state leaders to express grievances, including dissatisfaction with Bandi.
Talking about Saturday’s meeting, a BJP source said: “Shah heard the leaders patiently and tried to convince them to shun their differences and fight unitedly”.
He added that the party had engaged G. Kishan Reddy to diffuse the crisis in the Telangana unit and bring more synergy in the state.
“The high command also called Bandi for consultation on the points raised by the Eatala faction,” the source said.
ThePrint reached out to Bandi over calls but did not get a response till the time of publishing this report. It will be updated when a response is received.
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Complaints against Bandi Sanjay
One of the grievances raised by some leaders in BJP’s Telangana unit is about Bandi’s functioning style.
Leaders close to Eatala told ThePrint that “we have complained several times about Sanjay Bandi’s attitude of not giving respect to other leaders and behaving like an autocrat”.
They stated that “senior leaders Kishan Reddy and K. Laxman are also not happy with Bandi’s self-promotion at the cost of party”, but added that “the party leadership believes Bandi will ensure victory in Telangana”.
A second BJP source told ThePrint: “Eatela informed the leadership that he was disillusioned in the party as his workers and associates were not getting respect, and that many BRS leaders were initially inclined to join the BJP but backed out arguing that if Eatala was not getting respect, what was the guarantee of their future.”
Speaking to ThePrint last month, a BJP leader from the “Eatala camp” had said that under Bandi’s leadership, the Telangana BJP was focusing on ideological rather than substantive issues, which could cost the party.
“Bandi believes the Telangana election can be won by emphasising the Hindutva issue. However, across the state, without a strong cadre and addressing issues of corruption, mismanagement of funds, and unemployment, we cannot defeat the BRS,” he added.
“After its victory (in Karnataka), the morale of the Congress is also high, and it has the potential to divide the anti-incumbency vote if our decisions are not taken wisely,” the leader said.
Among those urging the BJP high command to replace Bandi as state president is former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, BJP sources had earlier told ThePrint.
The dissent against Bandi comes amid speculation in the state that Raj Gopal Reddy may return to the Congress, which is reportedly making advances at him as well as Eatala.
Reddy is believed to have influence in Yadadri and Nalgonda districts of Telangana, and is said to be facing pressure to join the Congress from his brother, K. Venkat Reddy, who represents Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency for the party.
‘Congress winning perception battle’
The BJP faces a slew of challenges as it gears up to put up a competitive fight against the BRS for Telangana’s 119 seats, including public criticism from within its ranks and the perception that it has been unable to capitalise on anti-incumbency in the state.
The fact that the BJP lost the recent elections in Karnataka is also believed to be affecting its prospects in Telangana.
The “Eatala faction”, BJP sources said, has cited a number of ways to streamline functioning of the Telangana unit and highlighted problems with the party strategy for the state polls scheduled for later this year.
A third BJP source told ThePrint that “Eatala informed Shah that the Congress is gaining momentum in the state and we are failing in our messaging. The Congress is waging and winning the perception battle that the BJP and BRS have joined hands. This can dent us and must be addressed.”
Shah was also told by Eatala, according to the source, that the party’s “strategy of attacking BRS will not get traction until we hit on their corruption cases and their leaders. (Probe) agencies have still not arrested K. Kavitha for graft”.
KCR’s daughter K. Kavitha, a BRS leader, has been subjected to questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the so-called Delhi liquor scam.
According to leaders in the “Eatala faction”, there are a number of reasons behind the BJP losing momentum in Telangana — one, a recharged Congress after its Karnataka victory is drawing leaders from other parties, second, the party has a stronger organisation than the BJP in the state.
Thirdly, they said, BRS minister K.T. Rama Rao’s recent meeting with several Union ministers in the capital for developmental work has created a perception of the BJP having a truce with the BRS and thus remaining silent on corruption.
“Although we have made our state unit much stronger in the last two years, without good leaders, we can’t win the state election,” one of the leaders said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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