BJP activists told to play nice', no rogue behaviour

Hyderabad: No more shenanigans. Everyone must work together; unity of purpose must be the order of the day.

These were the instructions Union home minister Amit Shah issued to three top BJP leaders in the state during individual meetings before returning to Delhi after attending the Telangana Liberation Day celebrations here on Sunday.

Shah met with state BJP president and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, former state party chief and BJP national general secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Huzurabad MLA and the party’s election management committee chairman Etala Rajendar. Shah also met with Sanjay late on Saturday night setting off speculation in the party circles on a possible greater role for Sanjay in the days ahead in Telangana affairs.

Shah also separately met with national general secretaries Sunil Bansal and Tarun Chugh looking after the party affairs in Telangana and Arvind Menon the co-incharge for state elections where he discussed the coming elections in the state, and coordination between state leaders.

"These were informal meetings. Leaders came and shared with Shah their issues. Even former Maharashtra governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao met him," a senior party leader told Deccan Chronicle.

However, it is reliably learnt that the most important takeaway from the meetings was that the top state leaders were clearly told that they should work together, and if they already are doing it, then they should do it in a much better way. It may be recalled that differences among top party leaders in Telangana nearly ended up gutting the BJP from within pushing it to a lowly third place in the election stakes. Shah is learnt to have made it clear that the leaders must set aside any differences, or perceived differences with others as this was non-negotiable.  

Shah reportedly informed Sanjay that he should be more active, get back his mojo and become a greater asset for the party in the state. Shah is believed to have discussed leaders from other parties joining BJP with Rajendar. He took stock of issues relating to coordination and the need to step up activities that would strengthen the party from the ground up with Kishan Reddy.

It is learnt that Shah suggested that the party should do away with distractions that keep them away from the actual work if they are to do well in the coming Assembly elections. The immediate result was that the party has decided to cut down on its planned 18-day rath yatras from three places to just about a week. There is also a possibility that it will scrap the entire plan for these yatras.

The focus should be on the ground level, strengthening booth committees, bolstering the confidence levels of party workers on the ground that the BJP can win the elections, Shah is reported to have said, taking a line that was being pushed hard by Sunil Bansal ever since he took charge of the party affairs some months ago.