Ahead of polls, BJP woos small parties

HYDERABAD: Despite efforts made by the state BJP unit to attract serious contenders into its fold, the party appears to have no success in that regard.  A senior leader of the party said, “We are open to alliances with any party that adopts and respects our manifesto.” Since the BJP has failed to forge an alliance with the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) led by M. Kodanadaram, who is now an integral part of the Mahakutami, the party had to look at other sources.

Small parties were also being tapped by the BJP. Cheruku Sudhakar, President of the Telangana Inti Party (TIP) said, “We are being wooed by top BJP leaders.”
BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya was said to have approached the TIP whose sphere of influence was limited to a few constituencies in Nalgonda district.  Sudhakar said, “Social engineering is our plank. Whoever assures us of representation to our candidates, we have no problem in going with them.”

Jitta Balakrishna Reddy, President of the Yuva Telangana Party, said talks were on with the BJP. We have committed to youth associations in at least 10 constituencies, which could become deciding factors for major rivals, he said. Bhuvanagiri, Aler, Sangareddy, Nizamabad constituencies were some of the strong areas.