Nada asks BJP leaders to avoid divisions or face action

JP Nadda expresses displeasure at actions of some senior leaders and asks them to resolve differences for good of party

Hyderabad: Amid ongoing spats in the BJP’s national arm, the party’s national chairman, JP Nadda, on Sunday warned of tough action against leaders who act against the party’s interests.

Nada arrived in the city to speak at a public meeting in Nagarkurnool, where he held an hour-long meeting with senior state leaders, including Federal Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, Federal House MP K Laxman, party state president Bandi Sanjay, MLA M Raghunandan Rao, State Secretary P Muralidhar Rao, State Vice President DK Aruna, actor-turned-politician Vijayashanti and Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy discussed the latest political developments in the state.

He reportedly asked leaders to avoid differences and work together to give the party victory in upcoming parliamentary elections. He expressed dissatisfaction with the behavior of some senior leaders and asked them to resolve differences in the interests of the party. The BJP chief reportedly told leaders that those who crossed party lines would be kicked out of their homes.

Nada also asked the leaders to confront the ruling BRS party and wanted them to develop a strategy that sees the BJP as the best alternative to the BRS.

Nada and Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions with Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender and former MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy in New Delhi on Saturday following reports that they planned to quit the party and join the Congress party. The pair are understood to have been given assurances that they would hold key responsibilities within the party and that their advice would be considered.

Loss in Karnataka has sapped the morale of the state’s party cadres to such an extent that many leaders plan to jump ship to join the Congress party, and damage control exercises have begun. The party, which claimed to be an alternative to the ruling BRS, found itself out of the race, with Congress seen as the main challenger.