BJP turns attention to North Telangana

Hyderabad: After launching its Lok Sabha poll campaign in Telangana with the Vijay Sankalp Yatra, the BJP is now focussing on Operation Akash by which it aims to induct leaders from other parties.

The BJP inducted two MPs from the BRS in the last few days.

Last week, Nagarkurnool MP Pothuganti Ramulu and Zaheerabad MP BB Patil joined BJP from BRS. It is learnt that both Ramulu and his son Bharath Prasad and Patil will be fielded by BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

In the assembly segments that come under Zaheerabad Lok Sabha, Congress polled a total 5.49 lakh votes and BRS polled 5.3 lakh votes in the assembly elections. BJP polled just 1.72 lakh votes. With the MP of Zaheerabad now in the party, BJP hopes to turn things around in the Lok Sabha polls.

For BJP, which has been making steady roads in north Telangana, which is considered a bastion of BRS, two sitting MPs from BRS from the region will add to the strength of the saffron party.

Of the total eight seats, BJP won in the last assembly polls, seven were from north Telangana and all from the rural tracts. Of the total four Lok Sabha seats BJP won in 2019, three were from the north Telangana region.

However, BJP is yet to make inroads in the GHMC area where BRS is a strong party and the south Telangana region, where Congress appears to be in a good position. Sources in the BJP Telangana unit pointed out that now party leadership had started focusing on south Telangana.

The BRS MPs were roped in secretly. Similarly, leaders from south Telangana will also be inducted into the party. Nowadays, you never know who is joining from where. Everything is being done from Delhi, a Telangana BJP leader told DH.