Bandi embarks on ‘Mission 19’; eyes all SC seats in next polls

HYDERABAD: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar seems to have set his eyes on Schedule Caste (SC) reserved constituencies. He asked his party activists to target all 19 constituencies reserved for SC candidates under ‘Mission -19’ programme and to ensure the party’s win in the next Assembly elections. “This is crucial for the party to form the next government,” he said, adding that a Bahujan Padayatra would be taken out on April 14, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.

Speaking at a party workshop held here on Tuesday, Sanjay Kumar said the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) legislators in reserved constituencies were facing the people’s anger and they were looking at the BJP as an effective alternative to the TRS. “With a robust action plan, the BJP has fair chances in winning in all these constituencies in the next elections,” he said.

Analysing previous results, Sanjay Kumar said the Congress formed the government in 2009 as it won 10 SC seats. Similarly, the TRS won 13 SC seats in 2014 and 16 in 2018 which made it a formidable party to form the government. Going by the same analogy, Sanjay Kumar said the BJP needed to win maximum number of reserved seats.

Sanjay Kumar said there was strong resentment against Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao as he had backtracked on the promises of making a Dalit the Chief Minister, Dalit Bandhu scheme and others hence the SCs were looking at the BJP as a vehicle to realise their political aspirations.

Citing a recent survey conducted by the party in all SC reserved constituencies, Sanjay Kumar said the BJP was in a strong position and what was needed was to make a concerted effort to turn the people’s aspirations into concrete votes, he said.

Stressing the need to win in all the SC reserved constituencies, Sanjay Kumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been implementing the Constitution envisaged by Dr. Baba Saheb in letter and spirit. Though the Congress tried to distort the facts by saying that the BJP was anti-Dalits, it was able to win 46 seats reserved for Dalits across the country while the Congress was limited to just five seats.

The BJP president announced an action plan at the meet on Tuesday on the request of the party cadre. Observers would be appointed constituency wise and they would tour the constituencies from January 5 till January 25, he said. Taking up padayatras in respective constituencies and holding protests and dharnas to raise issues of public importance and other agitations would continue, he said.

BJP leaders N Indrasena Reddy, Dr Vijaya Rama Rao, G. Vivek Venkata Swamy, G. Premendar Reddy and SC Morcha president Koppu Basha and others participated.