PM Modi pulls up Telangana BJP MPs, asks them to ‘shape up’ over party’s poor show

NEw new delhi: ground government minister Narendra Modi pulled up Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) MPs from Telangana o'er the party’s performance in the state, asking them to “shape up” during a meeting with lawmakers from four southern states, people aware of the discussions said.PM Modi on Thursday met the party’s eight lawmakers from Telangana, five from Andhra Pradesh, two from Kerala and one from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to an official privy to the meeting, the Prime Minister recalled how the BJP had grown from a party with just two MPs in 1984 to becoming the ruling party.“He said when we had just two MPs in Parliament, one was from Gujarat (AK Patel) and the other was from then undivided Andhra Pradesh, now Telangana (Chandupatla Janga Reddy)... But the state leaders have now frittered away the gains and allowed the party to drift,” the official said, requesting anonymity.The Prime Minister was perturbed that the BJP has not been able to position itself as the principal opposition to the ruling Congress after losing the state assembly polls in 2023, the people said. That year, the BJP won only eight of the state’s 175 seats, securing a 14% vote share.In the most recent assembly bypoll in Jubilee Hills, the party’s vote share dipped further to 8%, while the Congress won the constituency with over 50% of the vote.“The seat fell vacant after the demise of the sitting Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader, but the Congress managed to wrest the constituency from them… this has not gone down well with the PM, who said the party has not even lived up to its expectations as a commanding opposition. He cited the example of Odisha, where after the BJP ousted the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2024, the Congress moved in quickly as the main opposition party,” the official further said.Another official said the PM was of the view that BJP leaders in Telangana, including the newly appointed state president N Ramchander Rao and two Union ministers — Bandi Sanjay Kumar and G Kishen Reddy — have to pull their weight to form a formidable opposition to the Congress government.“The BRS is in disarray, with former CM K Chandrashekar Rao and his family feuding, and the BJP has a chance to set the narrative in the state against the ruling party. He cited the example of AIMIM, which is amplifying its voice on social media and on the ground…” the second person said.While the PM also asked the group to focus on organisational programmes that senior leaders, including him, can be a part of, some of the lawmakers and legislators had recently conveyed their concerns about the “old versus outsiders” sentiment that seems to prevail in the state.“The party’s organisational general secretary BL Santhosh, in a meeting with elected representatives and state office bearers, had said that barring the two Union ministers and a few legislators, the remaining leaders are not organically from the party and cannot expect to be handheld, which they found disconcerting,” the second official said.State unit president N Ramchander Rao, however, said the statement was misconstrued. “What Santhosh ji meant was that those who have been with the party for long and those who have joined from other parties have to work with a common aim, whether their growth in the party was organic or inorganic… there is nothing wrong with asking people to focus on a common goal,” he added.During Thursday’s meeting, the PM also directed the lawmakers from Andhra Pradesh to work on strengthening the party, but also to work together with the ally, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). “He pointed out that the alliance is in a good space and development is taking shape on the ground. He praised CM N Chandrababu Naidu’s initiatives to bring investment into the state,” the first official quoted above said.