The BJP is seeking to regain its lost glory in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh by vigorously taking up the cause of a separate state as well as issues relating to people in the region. Telangana was once considered a stronghold of BJP with a sizeable number of its senior leaders like Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Bandaru Dattatreya making a mark even at the national level and working as union ministers in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
The national party''s influence, however, waned gradually after it aligned with the Telugu Desam Party in the late 1990s. Luck did not favour BJP even after it snapped ties with TDP and raised the Telangana slogan again after 2004.
In the 2004 and 2009 elections, the BJP had to be content with just two seats each in the state Assembly while drawing a blank in Lok Sabha. The state party president G Kishan Reddy is representing Amberpet Assembly constituency in the city here and Nizamabad seat was represented by Lakshminarayana.
While the party has not much base in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, its influence has eroded significantly in coastal Andhra after it started espousing the cause of Telangana. BJP leader from coastal Andhra M Venkaiah Naidu too has become an advocate for bifurcation of the state much to the chagrin of the party rank and file in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions.
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