Will Sunil Bansal Be BJP’s ‘Dhurandhar’ From ULB to LS Polls

The BJP is starting to plan the micromanagement of the next round of elections well ahead of others. It wants to strengthen the party and make it election-ready, beginning with the upcoming local body elections and continuing through the next Assembly elections and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The party has decided to continue with the services of Sunil Bansal as Telangana in-charge, assisted by two co-in-charges, Rekha Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana, and Abhay Patil. The new organisational arrangement has been announced as part of a wider restructuring by the BJP.

Sunil Bansal, who recently demonstrated his poll-management capabilities in West Bengal, has been given the major task of increasing the BJP's Lok Sabha tally in Telangana. The party, which won eight Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2024 elections, now wants to add a few more seats to strengthen its position nationally.

This time, the party wants to avoid any overlap in responsibilities. During the 2024 elections, Patil, who is an MLA from Belagavi in Karnataka, faced some problems arising from overlapping responsibilities while overseeing the campaign strategy.

The new leadership team is expected to work with a three-year organisational perspective, focusing on grassroots mobilisation and strengthening the party's organisational machinery.

BJP state in-charge Sunil Bansal has given Rekha Sharma the responsibility of overseeing the party's preparations for the GHMC and other local body elections. She is expected to stay in Hyderabad and supervise the party's preparedness, with the objective of ensuring that the BJP emerges as a force to reckon with in the state. It is learnt that the party has taken a house on rent for her in Hyderabad.

The new team is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Telangana on Saturday. Shah is expected to review the political situation in the state and assess the party's action plans for the GHMC and other local body elections.

On Sunday, Shah is scheduled to participate in the inaugural ceremony of the Sabar Dairy Products milk plant. He will then attend the silver jubilee celebrations at Pratima Medical College in Karimnagar before returning to Delhi.

Shah, sources said, is likely to give a clear roadmap to the party's in-charges and co-in-charges for the upcoming local body elections, the Khairatabad Assembly by-election and the next Lok Sabha elections.

Against this backdrop, the appointment of Rekha Sharma gains significance. She is the first woman leader from the central BJP leadership to be given a co-in-charge role for Telangana. She is expected to play a key role in supervising the implementation of the party's strategy for the ULB elections.

The restructuring in Telangana is part of a larger BJP strategy. Under the present circumstances, the party believes it needs to strengthen its position in states where it could face challenges in the next Lok Sabha elections. The BJP therefore wants to increase its tally in Telangana and Karnataka.

It may be recalled that Telugu-origin leaders Ram Madhav and D K Aruna have been given in-charge and co-in-charge responsibilities in other states. D K Aruna has been appointed co-in-charge of Tamil Nadu, where Ram Madhav is the in-charge.

The BJP central leadership is of the view that there is considerable scope for the party to expand in Telangana. However, it believes that the problems lie in a lack of proper coordination among the party rank and file, particularly over the division of responsibilities.

The party has also been facing the challenge of identifying potential candidates who can win or put up a strong fight against rival candidates. In several constituencies, the BJP does not have an MLA-level face who can mount a serious challenge to Congress or BRS candidates. The BJP high command is also aware of internal differences among some leaders and wants to bridge these gaps while ensuring that the party's political and organisational work is properly supervised by the state in-charges.

.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gowri V

[email protected]

A Journey of Three Decades Time passes faster than we realise. What feels like a journey that began only yesterday has today grown into more than three decades of a meaningful and fulfilling life devoted to education, journalism, and the empowerment of young minds. My professional journey began with journalism training in New Delhi in 1979. I went on to work as an independent journalist, drawing on my fluency in both English and Telugu. Over the years, I have edited and worked on Telugu articles in both languages, an experience that strengthened my command of language and sharpened my understanding of society, people, and contemporary issues. Yet, my principal profession and enduring passion have always been teaching. My decision to become a teacher was not merely a career choice—it was a calling. Teaching offered me the rare privilege of inspiring young minds, guiding them through their formative years, and making a lasting difference in their lives. I found immense satisfaction in simplifying complex concepts, nurturing curiosity, encouraging independent thought, and building confidence among students. Every moment in the classroom—every question, every moment of discovery, and every spark of understanding—reminded me why I had chosen this path: to empower young people through knowledge, values, and essential life skills. My teaching career began at the grassroots level as a Montessori teacher and gradually progressed to the position of Vice Principal. I had the opportunity to work in reputed educational institutions, including Dilsukhnagar Public School in Hyderabad, where I shouldered both teaching and administrative responsibilities. Although I have always considered myself, at heart, a teacher, my administrative experience enabled me to understand and contribute to the education system from a much broader perspective. For my students, I have always tried to be an approachable and dependable presence—someone they could turn to not only for academic support, but also for guidance and emotional encouragement. At the same time, I developed a reputation as a firm disciplinarian who believed that integrity, fairness, responsibility, and discipline were fundamental to education. I was also consistently appreciated for maintaining clear communication with parents and staff and for ensuring that examinations and other academic processes were conducted with transparency, fairness, and efficiency. As my career progressed, however, I began to feel that academic education alone was not enough. This realization led me to work more closely with students following the SSC and CBSE curricula, while consciously bringing life-skills education into my teaching. I came to understand that education becomes truly meaningful when it prepares children not merely to pass examinations, but to face life. Teaching emotional resilience, self-reliance, social awareness, communication, decision-making, and other practical life skills often had a deeper and more lasting impact than academic achievement alone. I saw how these skills could help students navigate challenges with greater confidence, maturity, and responsibility. My academic background provided a strong foundation for this approach. My degree in Psychology from the University of Madras helped me develop a deeper understanding of young people's minds, their emotional needs, and the influence of their family and social environments. My M.A. in Telugu with First Class from Osmania University.

Read More