Interview of the Week: BJP in mission mode for 2019

The Bharatiya Janata Party is making all-out efforts to emerge as a formidable force in Telangana. It wants to encash on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the political vaccum that has been created in the State after the Congress party got decimated in the General Elections held soon after the bifurcation of the State in June. There have been many speculations that despite the efforts of BJP President Amit Shah to see that the State BJP moves forward in a mission mode, the party unit continues to suffer from internal rivalries. It is reported that Amit Shah has given a piece of his mind to the State leadership in view of the bickering and asked the rank and file to bury their hatchet and see that the party achieves the target of 35 lakh membership. In a freewheeling interview to C Anand Kumar Reddy, senior BJP leader Dr Kova Lakshman, who rose to the level of floor leader in the State Legislature from the ranks of ABVP in Osmania University, explains the various steps and efforts being made by the party to improve its strength and its relationship with alliance partner TDP, and speaks about GHMC elections.

BJP says it was responsible for passing the State Re-Organisation Bill, which paved the way for carving of the separate Telangana. But why is it that it could not improve its strength in Telangana even six months after the formation of the new state?
You are right. BJP was certainly responsible for passing the State Re-Organisation Bill which helped in creating a separate state. That feeling is very much there among the people and that is why the party got a good percentage of votes, though it could not convert them into many seats. That is precisely why the party national president has been emphasising that the party needs to improve its strength in the new state and emerge as an alternative political force. BJP has a strong base in many parts of Telangana and that is what needs to be converted into a strong vote bank by the time the party goes to elections in 2019. All-out efforts are being made to fortify the party organisation from village level and we are trying to create strong local leadership.

It is said that during the just concluded state office-bearers meeting, Amit Shah pulled up the leaders and asked them to sink all differences and work in coordination

It is not true. Our party president exhorted us to turn our focus on villages. He wanted us to tour villages frequently. He said that state leaders must visit villages four to five days in a month. He said unless the party rank and file remains with the people and among the people and explains the party policies and programmes, we will not be able to make headway as targeted.

There are allegations of lack of coordination among BJP leaders and workers. Senior leaders complain from time to time that they are being sidelined. How do you propose to set your house in order?
Every political party will have some difference of opinion. But one should not read too much into it. The advantage he BJP has is that the leaders, despite having difference of opinion on various issues, abide by a policy decision once it is taken after a thorough discussion. BJP is one party which does not speak in two voices on any issue. Our endeavour will be to improve the organisational strength and have strong leadership even at village level. Unless we have a very strong cadre, it will not be possible to give a tough fight to other political parties in Telangana. We have already started a series of training sessions and are in the process of identifying new leadership at the grassroots level. One thing I would like to make it clear is that you should not judge the BJP based on 2014 elections. At that time, the sentiment factor was very high and TRS being in the fore front of the fight for separate Telangana state had a clear advantage. Their victory is purely because of the sentiment factor.

Whether you agree or not the fact is that there are differences in Telangana BJP over alliance with the TDP. Many feel TDP is a liability for the growth of BJP? What is your opinion?
It is true that some leaders differed over alliance with TDP in the run-up to the 2014 elections. But BJP being a disciplined party, we went by the decision taken by the national party in the larger interests of the country. Even now, Amit Shah ji had made it clear that BJP and TDP would sail together. There is no move to severe our ties at this stage. We are contesting cantonment elections together and will contest even the GHMC elections. I am 100 per cent confident that our combination will defeat the TRS-MIM combine in the GHMC elections. People are unhappy with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for praising the Nizam. They will not accept the TRS government’s efforts to remove lessons related to ‘Ramayana’ from school textbooks.

There is a general feeling that the BJP has failed to take on the ruling TRS? Secondly, don’t you feel that the target of 35 lakh membership is on the higher side, given the fact that the party has very little presence in rural areas?
We have seen the style of TRS governance over the past seven months and the honeymoon period is over for it. From now onwards, you will see how the BJP will keep the government on its toes and monitor whether it is really working to fulfil the electoral promises or not. If the ruling party meets its promises, we will welcome it. Otherwise, we will organise protests and build movements. We have seen how the government has so far failed to reimburse the fees and how it could not implement the ‘Aasara’ scheme.

BJP has the tag of being an ‘urban’ party. How long will it take to free your party from this label?
Our aim is to strengthen ourselves wherever we are weak. For this, we have adopted a two-pronged approach. We will focus on villages and tribal hamlets in agency areas on the one hand, and try to bring SCs, STs and minorities into the party fold on the other.

BJP has never been a strong party in the South. It is always considered to be a North Indian party. In such a case, how do you think you will be able to make an impact in Southern states and in Odisha and West Bengal?
BJP has broken that myth when we formed the government in Karnataka. Now we want to strengthen the party on an all-India basis. Our special focus is now on AP and Telangana.