In what can be seen as a major boost for the saffron party, former mayor of Hyderabad, Banda Karthika Reddy has joined BJP in the presence of GHMC polls in-charge Bhupender Yadav, local BJP chief Bandi Sanjay and union minister of state G Kishen Reddy.
After a spate of successes up north and in north-east, BJP has now shifted its focus to south India and is trying to create a huge base down south. In the process, it is trying to make inroads in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Thanks to the success in Dubbaka by-poll, BJP is buoyed by Telangana people’s support and is now eyeing Greater Hyderabad municipal elections to get a foothold in the city of Hyderabad.
In a war of words, Telangana CM and TRS chief K Chandra Sekhara Rao has called BJP a party that was promoting communal, religious discord and violence. He also levelled allegations that thanks to Narendra Modi’s governance, India’s GDP was less than that of Bangladesh.
Not to be bogged down, BJP’s state president Bandi Sanjay had equally sharp statements against TRS. He said the party was in alliance with MIM, which meant that it was indirectly supporting terrorists. Bandi Sanjay also added that BJP will safeguard the interests of 80 per cent of Hindus and fight tooth and nail against TRS which was an ally of AIMIM, which was a killer of ‘gau mata’.
It is pretty obvious that BJP wants to project itself as the protector of Hindu dharma and play it as its poll card during the GHMC elections.