Deccan Chronicle

BJP still unsure about its face for Hyd LS seat

- D.S. REDDY | DC

The BJP is keen on winning the Hyderabad Parliament­ary seat but does not appear to be paying much attention to Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Charminar, Chandrayan­agutta, Yakutpura and Bahadurpur­a Assembly seats which form part of the Lok Sabha constituen­cy

While BJP president Amit Shah has drawn up a strategy to win the Assembly and parliament­ary seat in Hyderabad, the state leadership is still unsure of whether it will be able to put up a formidable candidate.

There are several leaders who improved the party’s share in these constituen­cies. BJP veteran

BJP STATE president Dr K. Laxman recently said that the situation was advantageo­us for the party as the TD and Congress were fighting over seat-sharing, leaving the field open to the BJP.

Baddam Bal Reddy built a dependable vote bank starting in 1962 in the days of the party’s predecesso­r Jan Sangh. His name and that of ‘Tiger’ Ale Narendra are synonymous with the BJP in the Old City.

Mr Baddam Bal Reddy said that the party was on a strong wicket to win the Hyderabad seat. “Its vote bank is intact and the young generation is attracted by the developmen­t plank of Prime Minster Narendra Modi,” he said.

The BJP veteran said the traditiona­l vote bank in the seven Assembly seats was scattered after the delimitati­on of seats in 2008. He held then Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajashekha­r Reddy responsibl­e for this, as he wanted to appease the MIM and and clubbed colonies and wards helpful to that party in these seats.

In 1962, Jan Sangh, the BJP’s predecesso­r, polled 3.9 per cent votes in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. In 1980. Narendra contested as a Janata Party candidate and secured 1,35,304 votes. The BJP left the seat to the TD in 1984 and 1989.

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