BJP scores a self goal on the Telengana issue

Most of the people from Andhra Pradesh knew that the formation of Telengana was just a matter of time as the ruling and the principal opposition party support it. Being a helpless supporter of the united Andhra cause, I felt that the BJP could have handled this in a much better way. 

BJP has been supporting Telengana for a long time. However when the state is finally formed, they will not win a single seat in that region. TRS+Cong will sweep the new state and that leaves the Seemandhra region, the home of one of the tallest leaders of the party Shri Venkaiah Naidu. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress hinted a potential partnership with NDA in several forums in the recent past. All BJP had to do was to be visible as someone who supported Telengana and equally cared for Seemandhra region. They could have been vocal about the financial package, amendments, etc on the floor and wouldn't have allowed the voting without the discussion. This would have ensured the support of 20 + MPs for NDA in the next Lok Sabha election.  But they chose to walk into Congress's trap. With these recent developments, I do not expect NDA winning even one seat in AP. In fact, some of the folks I polled are willing to support MIM purely based on amendments proposed by Owaisi. 

Congress used its experience really well to manage the passage of the bill by keeping everyone guessing till the end and rushing it through in the end. It followed a similar strategy for  the Food Security Bill. Now it begs the question- who is in charge of BJP's strategy on the floor? Ever since Advani ji lost control over the party,BJP's floor strategy is at its abysmal best. The current leaders are acting like paper tigers only focusing on debates on TV channels vs. fighting it out on the floor. The new guard of BJP is not delivering in the Parliament and are acting as Sonia's agents without their knowledge.

Net Net, I feel doubly let down as a citizen of Andhra Pradesh (and India) and as a supporter of BJP. The party has squandered an advantage to the third front and I am afraid lost a great opportunity to form the next government. AP played a critical role in the government formation in the 15th loksabha and will play even more bigger role in the 16th.

The only way for BJP to salvage this situation is to launch an aggressive campaign supporting the needs of Andhra region and hope that people forgive them.

Please also read
1. http://www.firstpost.com/politics/how-sushma-modi-rss-bypassed-advani-to-push-telangana-bill-1398073.html
2. http://www.firstpost.com/politics/passage-of-telangana-how-cong-bjp-sold-democracy-for-votes-1397539.html
3. http://innosights.blogspot.in/2014/02/how-telengana-exposed-both-family-and.html