BJP will become a principal force in Telangana on its own: Ramchander Rao

BJP Telangana president N. Ramchander Rao has asserted that the party will become a principal force in Telangana on its own merit and hence no ‘fault line’ will be formed because of an imaginary alliance with the alliance partner in another State on Monday.

The party’s strategy in the Jubilee Hills byelection will be made after a thorough discussion within the party and any decision made will not be incumbent on alliance dynamics in other States, he clarified, in response to the data story carried on Op-Ed page ‘Will the BJP-TDP alliance signal a new political fault line’ published on July 21.

Mr. Rao said the story is ‘highly speculative’ and does not have an ‘ounce of truth’ in it. The BJP’s vote share in Telangana has jumped from 7.69% in 2018 Assembly elections to 13.9% in 2023, and then surged to 35.1% in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. That signifies a party on a steep upward trajectory and the idea that BJP’s rise in Telangana depends on alliances is, therefore, factually hollow, he asserted.

Mr. Rao said that in 2024, the BJP took a lead in 46 Assembly segments and stood second in 44 more — clear signs of State-wide competitiveness. And, within the GHMC region, out of 24 Assembly constituencies, the party has led in 16 and secured 50% vote share in 12 of those. “That’s a deep penetration into urban Telangana, not a byproduct of alliance math,” he added.