Bandi Sanjay Kumar could not have had a more opportune moment than his party winning Assembly elections in four of the five States to complete his two years as State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. The decisive victories up north is a shot in the arm to him and his party in their quest to wrest power from Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) in elections scheduled for 2024.
It was on March 11, 2020 that he took over as the president as a surprise choice over the senior leaders in a political pole vault as his victory from Karimnagar Parliamentary constituency was his first big political win, immediately bringing him to the notice of the high command.
His “fiery oratory skills”, “unapologetic Hindutva appeal” and matching Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao “word to word in running down the Opposition leaders” was necessary to strengthen from the ground level, say party leaders, pleading anonymity.
Mr. Sanjay Kumar took charge at a time when the BJP and the TRS appeared to be “blowing hot and cold” with Chief Minister maintaining a direct contact with central leadership, “ignoring” local leaders here. In fact, Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy and Secunderabad MP, is yet to get an appointment from KCR in all these eight years as was stated by the former himself many a time.
First test for new president was Dubbak bypoll where party candidate M. Raghunandan Rao upset the TRS candidate, shocking the ruling party. His aggressive posture of taking on the police and TRS cadre during the campaign earned him respect and following of the cadre.
The MP was the star campaigner during Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections where his criticism of KCR, Majlis Party and talk of “surgical strikes in old city” energised the cadre and pulled in the crowds. The BJP performance was spectacular, winning 48 seats in 150 member body. Defeats in Nagarjunasagar bypoll and MLC elections notwithstanding, the key Huzurabad bypoll was won when the entire government puts its might behind it.
Mr. Sanjay Kumar kept party in the limelight agitating for cause of farmers during losses due to unseasonal rains, procurement issues, filling up vacant posts, etc., with his no holds barred attack on KCR himself. So much so, it was the turn of TRS leaders to complain about the tone of political rhetoric!
The successful first phase of 'padayatra' (Praja Sangrama Yatra) and his dramatic arrest from party office in Karimnagar, when he was protesting against the transfers policy showed that the TRS sees a threat from BJP. "I and my cadre are ready to go to jail any number of times to end this corrupt family rule of KCR," he declared several times.
He is convinced that people are angry with the TRS government because of non-implementation of various promises and the BJP has a good chance considering the Congress meltdown.
But, the MP has to watch his back as there has been an open rebellion with a section of seniors upset on being ‘ignored’ and held independent meetings in his own Karimnagar bastion. For now, it got papered over but the grouse is that he is depending on “select newcomers” and as his graph rises, so do the critics.
Published - March 10, 2022 11:52 pm IST
