In expansionist mode, BJP gives TDP the jitters in Andhra Pradesh - The Times of India
HYDERABAD: They may be allies at this juncture, but the concerted moves being made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become a formidable force in Andhra Pradesh is giving sleepless nights to its partner Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Having netted three former MPs and 10 former MLAs from the Congress into its fold, the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP launched a membership drive on Monday and claimed that several leaders and workers from the YSR Congress are in line to join the saffron party under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At present, the BJP is playing second-fiddle to the TDP in AP, and has been the junior partner in the recent elections which they fought as allies. But the saffron party is giving the impression that it does not want to stay in that position for long, and hence, the drive to increase the primary membership of the party as well as the efforts to bring into its fold several first and second-rung political leaders from the YSR Congress, the only other party that has a good presence in the region apart from the ruling coalition.
Through the membership drive launched on Monday, the BJP wants to establish itself as a party in its own right in AP and not be dependent on the TDP, said sources. "There is a political vacuum in Andhra Pradesh and we aim to fill it up. This does not mean we are taking on the TDP. As far as the 2019 elections are concerned, it is too early to predict anything," AP BJP president and Visakhapatnam MP Kambhampati Haribabu told TOI.
"At present, there are two lakh primary members. Within three months, we intend to increase it to 10 lakh. To achieve that, we have introduced online membership facility," AP BJP vice-president Y Raghunath Babu said.
Just before the elections, former Congress Union ministers
D Purandeswari and Kavuri Sambasiva Rao joined the BJP, while industrialist Raghurama Raju ditched the YSR Congress for the saffron party. At the state level, former Congress MLAs Kola Anand from Chittoor and Katasani Rambhupal Reddy from Kurnool took saffron turn. The latest addition to the BJP is former state minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, a Congress veteran, while Konathala Ramakrishna, another former minister, is waiting in the wings to jump on the BJP bandwagon along with his followers.
BJP sources claimed that at least six YSR Congress MPs and several former Congress MPs and MLAs are in touch with them. Incidentally, the YSR Congress leaders referred to by the BJP sources included many who stayed away from the recent party conclaves held by its president Jaganmohan Reddy.
"More and more leaders will join the BJP and it will become a formidable force on its own before the 2019 elections," said BJP spokesperson G Bhanu Prakash Reddy. (LOL)
Apart from individual leaders, the BJP is banking on film star Pawan Kalyan to lure members of the Kapu community to its fold. "Though most of the Kapus voted for the TDP in the recent polls, unlike the Kammas and Reddys, they do not have their own party. So we are banking on Pawan to lead the Kapus into the BJP," said party sources. The first test for the growth of the BJP will be its performance in the municipal elections in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Kurnool which are expected to be held soon, they said.
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Okay so BJP is inducting all the formers leaders of YSRCP.......
Well as Ratnakar Garu has said above, the same people in the Congress(3 years ago) have gone over to BJP.
If this trend continues, I expect TDP to easily win 2019 elections, but it could face tough competition from 2024, onwards.
BJP may induct as many leaders as it wishes, but my vote in the Telugu states will be for TDP and CBN alone.
