The BJP, which is upbeat following its election victories in Bihar and in the by-election to the Dubbak Assembly seat in Telangana, hopes to continue its winning streak in the Tirupati (SC) Lok Sabha seat, the by-election to which is round the corner.
Beginning with the temple city, the BJP leadership is optimistic of making inroads into Andhra Pradesh by riding high on the “Modi wave” and propagating the schemes sanctioned to the State by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
‘Litmus test’
BJP co-in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Sunil Deodhar has already termed the ensuing election as a litmus test for the party’s expansion in the State.
Addressing the constituency-level meeting here on Thursday, Mr. Deodhar appealed to the ‘karyakartas’ (workers) to “reach out not only to every household but also to every voter’s heart.”
Lauding BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay for steering the party to victory in the Dubbak election, he expressed the hope that his A.P. counterpart Somu Veerraju would replicate the same in Tirupati LS.
Mr. Deodhar said the BJP and its alliance partner the Jana Sena Part would contest the election.
Stressing on the need to maintain a safe distance from the ruling YSRCP and the Opposition TDP, Mr. Deodhar minced no words while calling both the parties as “casteist and corrupt, apart from promoting hereditary politics.”
Mr. Deodhar recalled how the people had given a thumbs down to the Congress and the slew of regional parties in the northern States for this reason.
“It is now the turn of Andhra Pradesh, where we have family enterprises such as the TDP and the YSRCP. Any party that perpetuates family rule will not have people’s welfare in mind,” he observed.
Mr. Deodhar asked the audience if they had heard of the successors of deceased BJP leaders such as Sushma Swaraj or Arun Jaitley donning the party mantle. The participants at the meeting responded with a big ‘no’.
“Nobody is entitled to party positions by virtue of birth or succession. The people have realised this, and we are going to prove it here in this State,” he asserted.
Mr. Veerraju, senior leaders Vishnuvardhan Reddy, B. Chandra Reddy, and spokespersons G. Bhanuprakash Reddy and Samanchi Srinivas, OBC Morcha leader J. Madhusudhan, and Dalit Morcha leader S. Muni Subramanyam took part.
