Babu Mohan, who has acted in more than 800 films, is now being projected as the Dalit face of the party.
HYDERABAD: Will comedian turned politician Babu Mohan’s entry help the BJP in neutralising the ire of Dalits against the party in Telangana? The state BJP leadership certainly hopes so and is looking at cashing in on the positive mileage that it will get by fielding a Dalit leader for the upcoming elections.
Babu Mohan, who has acted in more than 800 films, is now being projected as the Dalit face of the party. On Tuesday, he met senior party leader Bandaru Dattatreya at his residence and reportedly sought his blessings. Babu Mohan said that he was ready to contest from any constituency offered by the party. He said that he was invited into the party to leverage his film equity as voters in both Telugu states recognize and connect with him.
Mr Dattatreya said, “With Babu Mohan, the party has improved its strength. With his induction into BJP, the party expects to reach out to Dalits.” SCs were unhappy with the BJP over the Supreme Court judgement that made the Atrocities Act lenient on forward communities. Though an ordinance was brought in restoring status quo, the Dalit scholars feel the intent of the BJP was not reassuring.
Meanwhile, within the BJP, party leaders like G. Kishan Reddy were sulking since he was not informed about Babu Mohan’s entry. A party spokesperson said, “We stand to gain by Babu Mohan’s entry.” He said there was no truth in the claim that Mr Kishan Reddy was not informed. All decisions of the party were collectively shared by the top leadership of the party and he added that BJP was a very disciplined party.
