Dissidence brews against AP BJP chief Veerraju

Vijayawada: Resentment is brewing in the state BJP as some party leaders and supporters are opposed to the style of functioning of the party president Somu Veerraju.

Dissidents including BJP national secretary Satya Kumar and some of those who were suspended from the party met at a hotel here on Sunday. The state party leadership was kept in the dark about this meeting.

State BJP sources say party leaders usually meet at the party’s state committee office  to discuss party issues after taking the state party chief into confidence and also by seeking his presence. But Sunday’s meet was different and its participants did not want to have Veerraju around. Hence they chose another location.

Veerraju is allegedly not in the habit of consulting other senior leaders while holding party programmes in the state as “he always wanted to dominate the show.” They are critical of him for some of his controversial statements like holding out a promise to people to supply cheap liquor at Rs 50 per litre if the BJP is elected to power and branding the people of Kadapa district as ‘murderers’.

A BJP senior leader said, “His leadership is no longer helping the party to strengthen itself in AP. Instead, it is becoming more weak as was even evident in the local body polls. He is deliberately avoiding senior leaders and his utterances are hurting the image of the party in the state.”

Party sources say that BJP’s alliance with the Jana Sena led by Pawan Kalyan for the next assembly polls in 2024 is being discussed by the central party leadership. Pawan openly made a statement that he was waiting for the road map from the BJP in this respect. This means he wanted a word from the central leadership and will not look up to the AP BJP leadership.

Another BJP leader said, “Veerraju undertook a vicious campaign by visiting districts to dethrone the then state BJP president. Now, he is facing the same situation. Several leaders aspiring for the state party president post are in touch with the top central leadership and are exposing Veerraju’s failures on several fronts as leader of the state party.”

However, one leader said, “Unlike other parties, BJP’s top leadership in Delhi takes a final call either to retain Veerraju or to change the guard. It is keeping a close watch on him at present.”