The Telangana Police has stopped state BJP President Bandi Sanjay Kumar when he was proceeding towards Bhainsa town to launch the fifth phase of ‘Praja Sangrama Yatra’ from Monday.

After denying permission for the yatra and the public meeting in Bhainsa town of Nirmal district, police stopped Bandi Sanjay and other leaders and party workers accompanying him and sent them back.

The convoy of Sanjay, who is also a Member of Parliament, was forced to stop near Tatipalli in Jagtiyal mandal. The police asked him to return citing lack of permission for the padyatra.

The BJP leader took strong objection to the police action. He evaded police and left in a vehicle of a party worker. The police then stopped him near Venkatapur in Korutla mandal. Agitated over this, Sanjay and his supporters staged a protest by squatting on the road.

Police detained the BJP leader and sent him back to Jagtiyal. He claimed that police initially granted permission but after all arrangements were made withdrew the same.

“They are saying Bhaina is a sensitive place. Is Bhainsa some prohibited area,” Sanjay asked.

Communally sensitive Bhainsa had seen communal riots on few occasions in the past and the police have the apprehension that the padyatra may disturb public order.

The state BJP Chief said he was returning to Karimnagar at the request of the police and would wait till Monday afternoon. He vowed to go ahead with the padyatra.

The BJP is said to be planning to approach the Telangana High Court on Monday to challenge the police order disallowing the padyatra.

The saffron party has condemned the police action against Bandi Sanjay. Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao said the action reflects the autocratic rule in the state.

The fifth phase of padyatra was scheduled to start from Bhainsa. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was invited to address the public meeting to mark the beginning of the padyatra.

The fifth phase of the walkathon is scheduled for 20 days. As per the schedule announced by the party, it will culminate at Karimnagar on December 17.

Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay on Wednesday slammed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for visiting Bihar for politics instead of consoling families of four women who lost their lives in a botched-up family planning surgery in Ranga Reddy district.

Blaming the state government for the deaths, he demanded dismissal of Health Minister T. Harish Rao.

The four women died due to complications after undergoing Double Puncture Laparoscopy (DPL).

They underwent the procedure at the female sterilisation camp conducted on August 25 at a Civil Hospital in Ibrahimpatnam.

They complained of acute gastroenteritis and died while undergoing treatment. Two deaths were reported on Tuesday, taking the death toll to four.

After calling on some of the affected women undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad on Wednesday, Sanjay Kumar alleged that 34 women were operated on in one hour at the camp to create a record.

The BJP leader alleged that the authorities did not conduct even basic tests before the surgery. He slammed the Chief Minister and Health Minister for not calling on the victims.

“Instead of calling on the victims, the Chief Minister has gone to Bihar for politics,” he said.

The BJP leader said since Harish Rao is the Chief Minister’s nephew, he was not dismissed.

“KCR sacks only those ministers who do not belong to his family,” he said.

He demanded that the government pay Rs 1 crore compensation each to the families of the deceased, adding they should also provide a job and a two-bedroom house to the families.

Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Thursday claimed that 12 MLAs from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) are ready to join the saffron party.

He predicted that there will be a series of by-elections in Telangana soon.

He told reporters at Bhongir that like Munugode, many Assembly constituencies will see the by-elections.

He was referring to the recent resignation of Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy from the Congress party. The MLA also announced that he will also resign from the Assembly.

Rajagopal Reddy has already dropped hints that he will join the BJP and seek re-election.

Bandi Sanjay claimed that some TRS MLAs were preparing to resign from the ruling party as they feel that they will not have any future in the TRS government. “There are strong anti-incumbency sentiments among the people and some TRS MLAs are ready to quit the party,” he said

The state BJP chief claimed that TRS MLAs were coming forward to join the BJP as they had realised there was a groundswell of opposition to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family.

Sanjay, who is also a Member of Parliament, also claimed that the TRS MLAs will have no option but to quit due to pressure from the people in their respective constituencies.

The BJP state president exuded confidence that whenever elections are held, the BJP will come to power in the state. He claimed that surveys show that the BJP will sweep the polls.

“If elections were to be held today in Telangana, the BJP will win 62 seats with a vote share between 47 and 53 per cent,” he said.

He said the growing public opposition to the TRS government will further consolidate the projected vote share of the BJP.

Sanjay pointed out that the BJP has won two out of four by-elections so far. He said by-elections to Munugode seat will decide the course of the state’s future.

BJP, which had bagged only one seat in 119-member Assembly in 2018, wrested Dubbaka Assembly seat from TRS in the by-election held in 2020. The seat had fallen vacant due to the demise of a sitting legislator of the ruling party.

Last year, the BJP also won the Huzurabad seat. The by-election was caused by the resignation of Eatala Rajender after he was dropped from the state Cabinet by the chief minister following allegations of land encroachment. Rajender later joined the saffron party and won the by-election.

After the two wins, the BJP has gone aggressive to capture power in the state. Bandi Sanjay is currently undertaking the third phase of his ‘Praja Sangrama Yatra’.

Despite all the bravado, BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay is facing problems in his own turf. Despite the full backing from the party’s national leadership, Bandi is unable to roll on in his own district of Karimnagar. Several seniors from Karimnagar, including former MLA Gujjula Ramakrishna Reddy and Polsani Sugunakar Rao, are up in arms against Bandi Sanjay

The Central leadership of the party has clearly indicated that it stood solidly behind Bandi Sanjay, it did not initiate any action against the dissidents from Karimnagar. Even Bandi Sanjay has largely ignored the pinpricks from these leaders. This has emboldened the dissidents, who have now upped their ante.

Senior leader Polsani Sugunakar Rao has formed a team called Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy Temple Protection Struggle Committee and is organising programmes without involving the party. The committee is spearheading protests in the name of this committee. If reports are to be believed, a complaint has already been registered with the Central leadership over the activities of Sugunakar Rao.

The BJP state leadership was forced to announce that the committee has no relation with the party. Despite that, a large number of the BJP cadres attended the protest. Sources say the Central leadership is keenly watching these events in Vemulawada. Interestingly, Bandi Sanjay is planning to contest from Vemulawada assembly seat in 2023.

Lok Sabha Committee of Privileges has served notices to Telangana chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police and four other police officials in connection with the breach of privileges complaint by BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

The officials have been directed to appear before the panel on February 3 to give oral evidence on a complaint by the Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar.

Bandi Sanjay Kumar complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 3 against Karimnagar Police Commissioner V. Satyanarayana and three other police officials of Karimnagar district for ‘forcefully arresting him in an illegal manner and for attempting to produce him before the court for remand in connection with filing of alleges false cases against him’.

Sanjay appeared before the 15-member Privileges Committee on Friday and explained how the police manhandled him. He urged the panel headed by Sunil Kumar Singh to take action against the police officers involved.

The Lok Sabha Committee of Privileges has issued notices to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Principal Secretary (Home) Ravi Gupta, Director General of Police M. Mahendar Reddy, Karimnagar Police Commissioner V. Satyanarayana, ACP Srinivasa Rao, DSP Prakash and inspector Lakshmi Babu.

Sanjay Kumar, who is also the president of BJP’s Telangana unit, was arrested by police in Karimnagar on the night of January 2 when he along with his supporters were sitting on a ‘night vigil’ to protest against a Government Order relating to transfer of government employees and teachers.

As the police denied permission for the protest in view of the restrictions on rallies, meetings and public gatherings to curb Covid-19 in the state, the MP along with his supporters locked themselves in MP’s camp office to stage the protest. Police broke into the office to arrest the MP. He was booked for violation of Disaster Management Act and for attacking policemen.

The next day, Sanjay was produced before a magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody. Telangana High Court later struck down the MP’s remand and ordered his release.

The MP had alleged that the police commissioner and other officials acted in a high-handed manner and manhandled him. The police officers denied the allegations.

Why are key Velama leaders in the BJP slowly but surely becoming inactive? Why are they not visiting the party office even when VVIPs land in the state office? The insiders are now said to be making discreet enquiries about why they have become so inactive suddenly.

At a time when the BJP is going ballistic against KCR and his government in Telangana, the leaders from one particular caste are suddenly missing from action. Even when party state chief Bandi Sanjay was arrested, these leaders remained silent. This is now raising quite a few eyebrows.

BJP’s former incharge and currently Madhya Pradesh affairs incharge Muralidhar Rao did not visit the state party office even on a day when Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan viited. Similarly, a full-timer of the organisation in ABVP and the BJP for several decades and Khadi Village Industries South India incharge Perala Sekhar Rao too has not been visiting the party office. It is an open secret tht all is not well between Perala and Bandi Sanjay.

Party spokesperson Krishna Sagar Rao, who too is a Velama, has not issued even a single statement on Bandi Sanjay’s arrest. He has stopped visiting the state office of the party for quite some time. Similarly, another senior hand and former MLA Sankineni Venkateswara Rao too is keeping away from the party leadership and has not been visiting the BJP state office.

Why are these leaders, all from one caste, keeping away from the state office? What’s cooking? Let’s wait and see how things unfold.

Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay was released from Karimnagar district jail on Wednesday evening. He was arrested on Sunday night and sent to jail on Monday morning after Karimnagar district court rejected his bail and ordered 14-day judicial remand.

Sanjay remained in jail only for 48-hours. BJP national president JP Nadda visited Hyderabad on Tuesday and took part in a protest rally against Sanjay’s arrest. With this, Sanjay’s arrest attracted national headlines.

The BJP had planned to hold a protest rally every day until Sanjay completes his 14-day judicial remand in jail. It also called for Telangana Bandh on January 10 to gain maximum political mileage out of this issue and target KCR and TRS.

All these agitation programmes were cancelled after Sanjay came out on bail. Sanjay secured bail by approaching Telangana High Court. The High Court granted him bail on Wednesday.

Sanjay’s arrest gave ammunition to BJP to take on KCR and TRS in Telangana. But his release within two days minimised the political impact in Telangana that BJP has created.

BJP leaders and cadre are talking internally among themselves questioning where was the hurry for Sanjay to secure bail in a hurry from the High Court. They opined that it would have been better had Sanjay remained in jail at least for a week if not 14 days. It would have given an opportunity for BJP to garner the attention of media and people and to attack TRS and KCR every day by taking up various agitation programmes.

They feel that whatever political mileage they had gained with Sanjay’s arrest was lost with his release from jail in 48 hours.

They feel that his arrest was a plus for BJP but his release from jail in 48 hours became minus for BJP in Telangana.