Telangana: Chinks in saffron armour amidst Amit Shah power show

HYDERABAD: All may not be well in the saffron party, as squabbles within the state leadership came to light after Union home minister Amit Shah’s well-attended public meeting in Tukkuguda on Saturday. According to high-ranking party sources, a group of discontented leaders brought their grievances to him, making a plea for more attention in the party.Before the public meeting, the saffron party’s top boss met briefly with a few leaders from the party’s core committee at a private hotel to learn about the state’s political situation. The meeting was scheduled on a priority basis causing Shah to cancel other commitments.According to sources, a group of leaders are dissatisfied with the role that has been assigned to them. They did not take names, but claimed that they were being underutilised.This is the first time party leaders complained to the home minister during his visits. Shah, for his part, is said to have told them to focus on the elections for the time being. He solicited feedback from leaders on the response to BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay’s padayatra. “Some are still unhappy. We need to see how they coordinate. Every leader is important to the party,” a top source, privy to the developments, said Earlier in the party, it was speculated that some senior members, including legislators, were particularly dissatisfied with the leadership, and one of them even met with the Union home minister quietly in Delhi. Interestingly, Shah stated during a public meeting following his interaction with state leaders that he does not need to visit the state and that Sanjay alone is sufficient to defeat the TRS.Meanwhile, BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind took to Twitter on Sunday to share information about funds released by the Centre to the state. He was responding to TRS allegations that the Centre was treating Telangana unfairly.