BJP formidable in Telangana, says Dattatreya

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as a formidable force in Telangana and was strengthening itself in other regions too, party State president Bandaru Dattatreya said here on Sunday. The party would contest all the 42 Lok Sabha seats and a surprise was in store for the Hyderabad seat, he said.

Speaking to presspersons after several leaders including V. Sreeram, an NRI, hailing from Nalgonda and Jwala Bapu Reddy and Giridhar Yadav of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) joined the BJP, Mr. Dattatreya said there was an exodus of leaders from different parties to the BJP leaving others in a quandary.

Stating that the TRS joining hands with the TDP had come as a boon for the BJP, he said a new enthusiasm was being witnessed in the party.

On Union Minister Pranab Mukherji’s comments on the Telangana issue, Mr. Dattatreya described it as one more ploy of the Congress to cheat the people of the region.

Refutes rumours

He scoffed at rumours on former Union Minister Krishnam Raju distancing himself from the party and added, “He is very much associated with the BJP and there is no need to have any doubts.”

The party would contest all the seats and there was no question of extending support to any independent, he said when asked about Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat.

Mr. Dattatreya ridiculed TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu’s claims on ushering in the IT revolution and said the credit goes to BJP leader and former Union Minister Pramod Mahajan.

Those who joined the party included Ajmera Krishnaveni Naik, convener, Lambada Chaitanya Vedika. Mr. Dattatreya said more from Rayalaseem and Coastal districts would be joining the BJP in the next two days.