Vijayawada: Former central minister and BJP national general-secretary Daggubati Purandeswari has been named as president of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh by the party’s national president J.P. Nadda on Tuesday.
At a time when AP is heading for general elections nine months hence, her appointment at the party’s head gains special significance. A former central minister for two terms, the BJP is aiming to avail her services to brighten the party’s electoral prospects in AP, where it does not have much hold.
A senior BJP leader said, “Our national leadership is looking for a popular leader with national exposure and outlook to lead the party.”
BJP sources said the party has roped in former chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to the party fold recently. While he is from the Reddy community, Purandeswari represents Kamma and its political ally Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan the Kapu community.
With the help of these three, the BJP leadership aims to get the support of these communities in the 2024 Assembly and LS polls in the state. This is over and above the BJP’s outreach to other communities through a string of welfare schemes of the central government.
Sources say that it is as yet unclear whether the BJP along with its ally Jana Sena would make an alliance with the Telugu Desam in the coming polls to dethrone the ruling YSRC from power. Both TD chief Chandrababu Naidu and BJP chief Purandeswari are likely to sail together, though they have been having their family-linked discord for many years.
The BJP has lined up a series of programmes in AP like publishing chargesheets at various levels against the ruling YSRC government. It is reaching out to the people to publicise the two terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the good work his government did.
The party, which still has a low profile in AP, has to strengthen its base from booth level. It has to be seen how far the new party chief will take challenges and lead the party along with its alliance partners to better times in the state.
