Political Pickle

Telangana BJP delighted at change of guard at Raj Bhavan

If you need to analyse why Tamilisai Soundararajan was sent to Telangana as Governor, you only need to see the list of those who were in attendance at her swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. Tamil Nadu Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and Electricity minister P Thangamani from BJP’s ally, the AIADMK, were the prominent faces from Dr Soundararajan’s home state. It was Panneerselvam’s way of also underlining his proximity to the BJP. But despite having served as BJP president in Tamil Nadu, no senior leader from the state unit like Pon Radhakrishnan or H Raja marked his presence on Sounderarajan’s big day. If the AIADMK sent someone as senior as OPS to the ceremonial event, surely the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit should have been represented by someone of similar eminence. 

“She was moved out of Tamil Nadu for three reasons. One, there was opposition to her within the state BJP unit. Two, the BJP under her leadership had performed poorly in the Lok Sabha elections and it was felt it needed fresh impetus and leadership. Three, the stint as Governor would help her gain administrative experience to an extent which will help her later in her political career,” said a BJP leader. 

But the BJP in Telangana went out of its way to emphasise that it expects Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad to be lend a more willing ear to its complaints. The opposition Congress and BJP always felt the former Governor ESL Narasimhan was too favorably disposed towards chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and wasn’t quite happy to listen to complaints about him.

On Sunday, Telangana BJP president K Laxman led a delegation to greet Dr Soundararajan. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home, too flew in from New Delhi to be present at the swearing-in ceremony. Veteran Telangana BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya who is Himachal Pradesh Governor-designate, too was present at Raj Bhavan. 

“She will not be a nodder like her predecessor. We believe she will ensure all constitutional rights and provisions are protected in Telangana. With KCR’s style of undemocratic functioning, he will certainly run aground with the Governor is what we foresee,” Krishnasagar Rao, BJP spokesperson told Filter Kaapi.

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