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Journalism of Courage
Bandi Sanjay Kumar, 52, has been a fiery critic of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana. Just a few months after replacing him with Union Minister G Kishan Reddy as the state BJP president and giving him a central organisational role as its national general secretary, the BJP leadership has now brought Kumar back into the state by fielding him from Karimnagar for the November 30 Assembly elections. He had lost the 2018 Assembly election from the seat, but won from the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency in 2019.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Kumar says he has been given the ticket as the BJP wants to project the party’s OBC (Other Backward Classes) face asking all its state OBC leaders to fight the polls. Excerpts:
How do you view the BJP’s prospects in the Telangana polls?
BJP will win the state. Because BJP is the only party that fights elections with a vision against the ruling BRS party. The Congress has strife due to internal politics, their leaders are fighting against each other. People in Telangana have no trust in the Congress party. The BRS is beset with corruption and appeasement of one community. The Congress had also robbed the nation. So the people have no faith in either of these parties. This makes the BJP the strongest player in Telangana elections. The BRS has had some sympathies because of its record of the struggle for the state formation. Around 200 youth had to sacrifice their lives for Telangana and the Congress had delayed the state’s formation. So people hold them responsible for their plight. But after the formation of the state, it was the BRS, which was the former Telanagana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), that ruined the state. So people prefer the BJP. We have to save Telangana.
What is the biggest challenge for the BJP?
The biggest challenge before us is coming together of all the parties against the BJP. The BRS and the Congress are together fighting against the BJP. Senior leaders from the BRS are joining the Congress because of an understanding between the two parties. That’s because they want to fight together.
How would you counter the allegations – Rahul Gandhi keeps saying that the BJP, BRS and AIMIM are together and that is the reason there have not been any arrests of the BRS or AIMIM leaders by the central agencies?
It is wrong to say that Modiji is using ED or CBI against the Opposition. They are independent organisations and they are going after corrupt leaders. The ED is not a party institution. Rahul Gandhi keeps raising it to mislead people and also to hide the fact that the BRS, Congress and AIMIM are together. In 2019, 12 of the 19 Congress MLAs joined the BRS. In the 2014 elections, they fought together. In the Rashtrapati elections to elect Droupadi Murmu, the Congress and the BRS voted against her together. In Parliament forum, these two worked together multiple times against the BJP. So they cannot deceive the people. The Congress does not have anything in Telangana. In the recent bypolls, the Congress candidates had lost their deposits. In the Hyderabad civic elections, it could win only two seats.If you analyse the political situation in Telangana you will realise BJP is the only party that fights against the BRS’s misrule. In many areas including Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal, it is the BJP that is giving a fight to the BRS.
You have been the face and voice of the BJP in Telangana for some time. What led to the change of leadership?
Narendra Modi is the only face of the BJP – be it in Telangana or any other state. And Kamal (lotus) is our symbol too.
But in Telangana you were leading the fight….
The central party may have some plans. The change (in state party leadership) could be because they have some plans for the future and the party’s growth. That could be the reason. It could be for the good of the party.
The BJP under your leadership had been taking on the BRS government. But since you were removed, there has been a talk that the BJP did not want a strong opposition and wanted an understanding with the BRS for the Lok Sabha polls. So you were removed. What do you have to say?
It is wrong to say that the BJP does not attack the BRS now. Prime Minister Narendra Modiji has been attacking the BRS and the family of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao fiercely in his speeches in the state. The Prime Minister also attacked them at Mahbubnagar rally. Home Minister Amit Shah has been attacking the BRS and so is BJP national president J P Naddaji.
It is not just to show off. In fact the central leadership has asked the state party unit to attack the BRS vehemently. We have been asked to fight strongly and aggressively against both the Congress and the BRS.
Do you think the party is more focused on the Lok Sabha elections and is keener on getting more MPs on lotus symbol to retain its dominance in national politics?
If that is the case, why would Modiji have so many rallies in the state? The PM has already taken five rallies and there will be more. He may address 10-15 rallies in the state. Amit Shahaji has at least 20 programmes and Naddaji also.
A number of leaders who had joined the BJP under your leadership are leaving the party and joining the Congress. Why?
They may have something in mind. Anyways it is democracy and anyone can join any party. But I request them to review their stand. I would like to tell them that there is no guarantee in the Congress party despite their emphasis on the so-called guarantees it is offering. Those are just empty promises. There is so much internal fight in the Congress that it would never be able to come up. Those who are planning to join (the Congress) should realise it. I would like to tell those who have joined and are planning to join that it’s a suicide mission.
Many in your party say that yours was a “single-man army” as you did not take others in the party along.
It is wrong to say that. The central party, in order to strengthen the state unit, has taken decisions on changes. The new state unit president Kishan Reddy is an experienced leader. He was the president of the BJP unit in the combined Andhra Pradesh twice. He is a senior leader, an expert and experienced.
You were appointed as the party national general secretary, then you were made a star campaigner in Chhattisgarh… people said the party wanted to keep you away from the state. But then what happened that it decided to name you as a candidate in a tough seat in this election?
That is because the BJP has decided to focus on the OBC. That is because the BJP wants to make an OBC chief minister. All the OBC leaders in the state BJP have been asked to contest the election. Our party decided to field all the OBC leaders in the state. We would have almost 50 % of the total candidates from the OBC community. The Congress has fielded only 19, the BRS list has 23.
We will have at least 35-40 OBC candidates. It is for the first time the BJP has announced before the elections that it would have an OBC CM.
Does it mean that the BJP has changed its strategy after the OBC push initiated by the Congress?
It is not true. In fact, the OBC leaders from the Congress are moving out. The party has not been able to field enough OBC leaders in this election. There is a lot of unhappiness among them in the Congress. The BRS is a family party and is against the OBC. Rahul Gandhi has insulted the community by not giving tickets to them.
