BJP set sights on AP, chalks out game plan

Hyderabad, Nov 7: Elections in Andhra Pradesh are far away but BJP president Amit Shah is said to be meticulously getting a political plan executed to make the saffron party a formidable force in the state by 2019.

The BJP may be an ally of the TDP now, sharing power both in the state and at the Centre, but emerging as the "only alternative" to the ruling party in AP is an ambitious plan that Shah seemingly has chalked out for the party.

Caste calculations have been worked out and leaders who fit into the grand plan have been identified to make BJP stronger across the state, party sources said.

Interestingly, BJP is seeking to rope in known "Babu baiters" into its fold to 'check' TDP head and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu if not frustrate him in the long run.

Already, former minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana from Guntur district has joined the saffron ranks and BJP insiders say others like former CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy and former PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana may also jump onto the bandwagon sooner or later. Their dislike for Chandrababu is well-known.

Like Kanna, if Kiran and Botsa too join the BJP as is being speculated, it will be a bitter pill for Chandrababu to swallow, they said.

Unlike in 1999, the BJP is not dependent on him now. Rather, he is dependent on the Centre to re-build the truncated state, as he was voted to power precisely for that.

And, the biggest trump card for the BJP may come in the form of film star Pawan Kalyan, one of the staunch admirers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kalyan floated his own political outfit Jana Sena ahead of the May elections but he threw his lot behind the TDP-BJP combine.

The Prime Minister widely acknowledged Kalyan's role in turning the tide in favour of the combine and now, in concert with Shah, is said to be working on the plan to get the star completely into their fold.

Being a Kapu, Kalyan can largely influence the political scene in the two Godavari districts where the community is dominant besides spreading his clout to north coastal districts.

"Kalyan's charisma works across AP and not just these districts. But here, he can hold the key," a senior BJP leader said.

Former Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, whose Jai Samaikya Andhra party sunk without a trace, initially had reservations about joining the BJP as he stood for the united AP cause while the party backed the state bifurcation.

Many rounds of negotiations later, Kiran was said to have been "convinced about Modi's leadership" and shed his reservations, a top BJP leader who was part of the negotiations said. But it may take a few more months before Kiran actually joins the BJP.

Former PCC chief Botsa hopes to revive his political fortunes by joining the BJP. In wooing Botsa, the national party wants to expand its footprint in Vizianagaram district where it virtually has no presence now, a party source said.

Another former minister Konathala Ramakrishna, who recently walked out of the YSR Congress, is in line to join the BJP. This will give a boost to the party in Visakhapatnam district and help attract BC voters.

Former Union Ministers Kavuri Sambasiva Rao and Daggubati Purandeswari, who switched over from the Congress on the eve of the May elections, will be used to consolidate the Kamma support base of BJP in West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts.

BJP hopes sitting Nellore MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, who is reported to be continuing an uneasy stay in the YSRC, may consider switching over.

If Mekapati and Kiran join the BJP, as widely expected, it will have two big Reddy leaders to woo the community in SPS Nellore and Chittoor districts.

Mekapati apart, three more MPs of the YSRC ' two of whom initially tilted towards the TDP ' are now said to be 'in touch' with the BJP leadership in New Delhi.

"We will admit good leaders from other parties. In the future, there may be no opposition party in AP," State Endowments Minister P Manikyala Rao remarked.

"From north coast to south coast Andhra, we already have tall leaders and the entry of bigwigs from other parties will help consolidate our strength. But we will still be weak in at least three Rayalaseema districts where we don't have any notable leader now. We will have to work on that," a senior office-bearer of state BJP said.

But the saffron party sees an opportunity with the YSRC, which came out strong in Rayalaseema.

As the Congress is already out across the state and the main opposition YSRC too eroding, the BJP is clearly positioning itself to "fill the political vacuum" in AP and emerge as an alternative to the TDP.