The recent appointment of Somu Veeraju as BJP president attracted a lot of attention. Though BJP is not a force in Andhra, it is in power at New Delhi with Narendra Modi as Prime minister and so there was attention.
In the 2019 elections in AP, the BJP got 1% of the vote. Somu Veeraju announced that he will attract the TDP voters, saying that the TDP did not allow the BJP to grow. BJP is also very happy with its ally Pawan Kalyan as he is a crowd-puller. We have also to judge slowly over who will gain in Andhra if BJP grows. It is too early for that.
In Telangana, West Bengali and Kerala, the BJP was traditionally weak. But with Narendra Modi’s Government and image, BJP grew enormously in these 3 states. Despite the same advantages, why did the Andhra BJP not grow?
Strengths of Andhra BJP:
1. Andhra BJP has a well-organized leadership at all levels. Andhra BJP has strengthened itself in tribal areas and amongst Dalits. The BJP attracted leaders from other parties, as it is in power in Delhi. The BJP, when in alliance with TDP, also attracted resourceful candidates.
2. United Andhra BJP also has a disproportionate share in the Central government. They had Governors, Bank directors& positions in various Agencies. BJP has Telugu Rajya Sabha MPs and the party is a great media force, which daily wins TV battles. Who can stop Machinegun Raghunandan Rao?
3. Ally Pawan Kalyan is a great crowd-puller and he has a presence in the entire state. Huge crowds can be mobilized for Modi and Shah if need be.
Challenges before Andhra BJP :
1. The big problem for Andhra BJP is whether it can bring new blood since old blood and old leaders from other parties dominate the party. In the last 35 years, United Andhra BJP leaders have essentially been the same. This is a challenge for Somu. Just expanding Committees is no solution. Can he retire the entire old leadership?
2. Somu Veeraju also said that he will try to get attract TDP voters. But he did not say whether he will attract YSRCP voters. The TDP is not in power.
3. But will Andhra BJP attack the YSRCP government and try to replace it? Public wonders whether Andhra BJP only wants to replace TDP and not the state government?
4. Clarity is needed here from BJP. Strangely the new BJP leader did not say he will try to attract YRSRCP voters. This means that the BJP has handicapped itself straight away. A lot of potential Pawan Kalyan voters went to YSRCP.
Will BJP try to replace the present state Government?
BJP also did not say whether it will try to form the Andhra government in 2024. Normally, Opposition political parties attack the government.
But here, the government was spared and Opposition was targeted. So there is a contradiction which Veeraju will have to solve.
It might be a new political experiment, where a political party wants to be friends and enemies. In English, it is called “frenemies”. An opposition party cannot attack another opposition party and spare the government.
Till Somu Veeraju became President, State BJP attacked the YSR Government. But the Central BJP spokespersons kept quiet. This always happened when we raised Polavaram dam relief issues.
The Central BJP kept quiet and never represented our troubles. Now, with regards to Amravathi, the State BJP wants it as the capital and the Central BJP is quiet. Will this strategy work? Forget riding 2 horses at one time. It is 3 horses!
The YSRCP has an excellent relationship with the National BJP leadership. Sri Jagan Mohan Reddy has made it clear that he will not fight with the central government. The YSRCP supports Modi strongly. This is a major problem for the Andhra BJP.
Conclusion: Somu Veera Raju has a big challenge on his hands. He has to do more than Kanna Lakshmi Narayana or people will wonder why there was change. The problem for Andhra BJP is whether it wants to challenge YSRCP or not. Right now, if BJP, Pawan Kalyan, and TDP join, they will pose a big challenge to the YSRCP. But if Andhra BJP is not interested in replacing the government, then what will it gain by replacing TDP?
Of course, over time, the experienced leader Som Veeraraju will settle these issues. Otherwise, it will be like China’s view of China-India relations. China says: War with India to grab land on borders. But peace with India to export “. That won’t work in politics or even in life. As a famous comedian said “ Either you are married or unmarried. You can’t be a little married “