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Hyderabad: The Jana Sena Party (JSP) has been part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for some years now in Andhra Pradesh, which also includes the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). In spite of this, the BJP contested the recently held municipal elections in Telangana alone, while the JSP put up candidates on its own.

The duality is a bit odd, given that the BJP should partner with the JSP if the Pawan Kalyan-led outfit is also contesting elections. However, during the municipal polls, the Jana Sena Party announced its own candidates and BJP leaders, more or less, decided not to give it much attention. The TDP, which has been finished in Telangana since the 2018 state elections, is unlikely to see a resurgence here.

“We had contested the 2023 Telangana elections with the Jana Sena Party, but the results in those seats were bad. So, in this scenario, we are not even holding talks with them to discuss the matter, because if we do, then it means we are acknowledging them as partners. In Andhra Pradesh, the alliance is running as it should and there is no problem,” a BJP leader from Hyderabad told Siasat.com.

The BJP in the state, in fact, wants to get stronger on its own without the support of anyone else. The saffron party is trying to spread into districts via grassroots since Telangana was formed. Seen as a party with an urban voter base for most of its years, the BJP, however, did see some success in the 2023 state elections when it won seven out of the eight Assembly constituencies outside of Hyderabad.

BJP wants to grow stronger on its own

In the 2014 elections, when it had an alliance with the TDP, the BJP won five Assembly seats (out of 119) in Hyderabad. In the subsequent polls in 2018, it managed to win just one seat – Goshamahal – in Hyderabad. Since then, it also managed to win eight out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 Parliament elections, given that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had barely put up a fight against the ruling Congress in the state.

“From our perspective, people now have a reason to vote for the BJP. We also had to get a new state president and that has been resolved now with the appointment of Ram Chander Rao. Going forward, we don’t see the need to have any alliance here. This is the same as the Congress and Communist Party of India (CPI) being in an alliance here, but fighting against each other in Kerala,” the BJP leader added, requesting anonymity.

When asked if this situation will continue, a Jana Sena Party functionary, who did not want to be named, said that as of now, this status quo will continue and that the party leadership will decide what to do closer to the next elections.

BJP’s rise and communal polarisation

Moreover, the BJP in Telangana has also been getting stronger in Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Adilabad, which have in the last few years also seen more communal violence – a growing sign of increasing religious conflict.

In September 2024, a mob of tribal and non-tribal communities attacked and burnt shops belonging to Muslims days after a Muslim auto-rickshaw driver allegedly raped and attempted to kill a tribal woman. After the violence, a fact-finding team that visited neighbouring villages of Jainoor twice, alleged that it was orchestrated by the BJP and its affiliates to target the Muslim community.

Aside from this, a string of communal incidents has also been reported in Hyderabad alone over the last few years, including the desecration of temples.