- Monday, February 24, 2025
It was reported that both the parties were struggling to find candidates to field in the upcoming national polls and hence fought over a former state lawmaker.
By: Shubham Ghosh
PREPARATIONS for the 2024 general elections in India turned ugly in the southern state of Telangana on Tuesday (12) when two opponent parties — including prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) fought over a former lawmaker who had announced his intention to join the Hindu nationalist party.
Aroori Ramesh, who was earlier a lawmaker in Telangana representing the BRS, which was formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which was voted out of power in last year’s election, was at his residence when BRS members allegedly entered and tried to carry him away illegally, an NDTV report said.
This happened after Ramesh met the BJP chief in Telangana G Kishan Reddy, who is also India’s tourism and culture minister, and revealed his plan to join the BJP in the evening.
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But as the 56-year-old former lawmaker tried to announce his resignation from the BRS, a few leaders of the party including a former minister of Telangana barged in and tried to dissuade him. They also reportedly made him speak to a BRS leader over phone and allegedly took him to state capital Hyderabad in a car. There, senior BRS leaders, including former chief minister and party supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, were expected to talk to him.
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Soon after, supporters of the BJP and BRS clashed outside Ramesh’s residence after it was said that he was allegedly kidnapped by the BRS.
Videos of the incident surfaced that showed Ramesh being pulled out of the car in which he was allegedly being taken. The vehicle was reportedly intercepted by supporters of the BJP who tried to stop the former lawmaker from going to Hyderabad. They also made Ramesh speak to the chief of the BJP chapter in Telangana and the former BRS leader was heard saying that would tell the BRS leadership that he has resigned.
Ramesh’s shirt had been torn in the scuffle between the supporters of the two parties and he looked hassled.
It has been reported that both the BRS and BJP are struggling to find candidates for the upcoming elections. While the BRS lost a few of its parliamentarians and local lawmakers to the BJP and Indian National Congress, another national outfit and its rival in the state, the BJP is trying to induct leaders from other parties such as the BRS, which is still coping with the blow it received in the 2023 election in Telangana.
According to reports, both the BRS and BJP wanted to field Ramesh to contest the general elections from the Warangal constituency and the leader preferred Modi’s party over the regional one. He also accused the BRS of humiliating him despite doing well in elections and wanted to move on.
2019 general election results in the Indian state of Telangana (total seats 17):
BRS won nine seats out of 17
BJP won four seats out of 17
Indian National Congress won three seats out of 17
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen won one out of one seat
