Rumour mill abuzz over change of guard in AP BJP

Is the BJP national leadership mulling a change of guard in Andhra Pradesh? Is Somu Veerraju on his way out as the AP BJP president? Is the BJP national leadership unhappy with the way Somu Veerraju is handling the situation in the state? The political class is abuzz with stories about Somu Veerraju being shown the door.

Somu Veerraju was made the party president after Kanna Lakshminarayana had failed to improve the party’s performance in the state in the 2019 elections. There were complaints of collusion with the TDP against Kanna Lakshminarayana. The BJP national leadership was also said to be unhappy with Kanna Lakshminarayana’s stand on the Amaravati issue. There were also allegations of financial improprieties against Kanna Lakshminarayana. So, the BJP brought in party loyalist and Kapu leader Somu Veerraju as the party president.

However, the party national leadership is said to be of the opinion that Veeraju did not match up to expectations. He took a long time in finalising his district level teams. He has also been accused of alienating some powerful communities in the state through his excessive emphasis on one social group. If sources are to be released, BJP national president JP Nadda did not give an appointment to Somu Veerraju in recent times.

Meanwhile, the footfalls of party senior leader and deputy organising secretary Shiv Prakash Singh have increased in AP. He has been visiting the state regularly and is said to have warned the party leadership to buck up and get into the act. Though his tough words created a sensation in the AP BJP, the top leaders though shaken were not stirred.

Sources say that the party is seriously mulling bringing back Kanna Lakshminarayana. Kanna was quite pro-active and toured the whole state several times to reactivate the party. Sources also revealed that even the name of former minister Adinarayana Reddy is doing rounds. The party is also seriously considering appointing someone from Rayalaseema region as both the TDP and the YSRCP are led by the leaders from Rayalaseema.