Small Town Boy Now Becomes BJP Chief In Telangana

He comes from a modest economic background and studied in small-time rural schools. He has few sources of income and his wife, an SBI employee, runs the family for him. He eats, sleeps, drinks politics. He is the quintessential man next door who greets everyone with folded hands and an open smile. This ordinary man, who had lost assembly elections twice, beaten by political rivals several times, is now the president of the Telangana BJP. Yes. He is Bandi Sanjay.

Now Karimnagar MP, Sanjay is a quintessential RSS guy and a workers' leader. Young and hard-working, he is likely to take the BJP into active mode in the state. BJP sources say that party's national president JP Nadda chose him for his activist image. In fact, there were several contenders for the top post, including AP Jitender Reddy and DK Aruna. Even Dr Laxman was eyeing another term. But, the party national leadership chose him because it felt that someone with firm ideological moorings and grassroot connect was needed to lead the party.

Interestingly, Sanjay is the second leader from Karimnagar to become the party president. The first one is Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao. Also, he is the first state president who is not from Hyderabad city. The last time the party had a non-Hyderabad CM was Vidyasagar Rao.