Enthused by its victory in the last Lok Sabha elections and subsequent wins in some states with the help of allies, Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to paint the entire country with saffron gradually.
Till now, barring Karnataka to some extent, the BJP has not been able to conquer the south at all till now.
Yet, the BJP leaders are making tall claims of capturing the two Telugu states initially and then spread the wings to other parts of south, directly or indirectly.
But it is easier said than done, going by the people’s mood in the Telugu states.
In Telangana, the BJP leaders have become overconfident after winning four MP seats, but in the local body elections and in the recent Huzurnagar by-election, the BJP put up a completely miserable show. So, it has to go long way before even dreaming of coming to power in Telangana.
In Andhra Pradesh, too, the BJP leaders are putting up an aggressive posture and are projecting themselves are alternative to the YSR Congress party.
BJP state president Kanna Laxminarayana went to the extent of describing Jagan Mohan Reddy as the most inefficient chief minister he had ever seen.
It appears the BJP state president seeing himself in the CM’s post, hoping that TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu would fade out of political spectrum in the next five years.
But does the BJP really have such a scene in AP?
First of all, the BJP does not have the organisational network like that of the YSRC or TDP or for that matter, even the Congress party though it is almost defunct in AP.
Secondly, like in Telangana, the regionalism is deeply rooted in AP as well and has little scope for nationalism being preached by the BJP. The slogans of nationalism, Article 370 abrogation, Balakot attacks and NRC might make an interesting reading for the urban elite of Andhra electorate, but they hardly make the issues in elections in AP, which are fought on caste and money factors.
Thirdly, the BJP leadership might be thinking of growing big by luring big leaders from the TDP like Sujana Chowdhury, TG Venkatesh, CM Ramesh, C Adinarayana Reddy and Vakati Narayana Reddy, but little did it realise that they all joined the BJP only to safeguard their personal interests, rather than strengthening the party in AP.
Fourthly, BJP’s ideology of hardcore Hindutva has never gained traction in Andhra, as there is no scope for communal polarisation. The BJP leaders might be harping on “Christian” connections of Jagan Mohan Reddy, but such attempt has no takers in Andhra.
Fifthly, the BJP in Andhra Pradesh does not have a strong leadership. May be Venkaiah Naidu would have made some difference because of his acceptance among the people, but he is out of politics now. There is no strong leader with stature who can galvanise the people and strengthen the party to bring it to power.
And lastly, the people of Andhra have not forgotten the great betrayal of the state by the BJP by denying special category status and funds legitimately due to the state from the centre during the Narendra Modi government.
So, the BJP will have to work hard to get rid of this stigma of being anti-Andhra.
