The BJP national leadership on Tuesday appointed new presidents for the party state units in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The party removed incumbents Somu Veerraju in Andhra Pradesh and Bandi Sanjay in Telangana.

The two were replaced with former union minister Daggubati Purandheswari for Andhra Pradesh and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy for Telangana. The two appointments come as the party national leadership gears up for the next round of general elections in the two Telugu states.

Telangana is set to go for elections in November-December this year, while Andhra Pradesh is scheduled to go for elections in March-April next year.

In Andhra Pradesh, it was initially thought that BJP national secretary Y Sathya Kumar would be appointed as the party chief replacing Somu Veerraju. However, the party national leadership changed the decision appointing Purandheswari as the party chief.

Purandheswari’s appointment comes at a time when there is a talk about the BJP having alliance with the TDP and Jana Sena for the coming general election. The Jana Sena is already in alliance with the BJP while the TDP is said to be holding talks over restoring the ties.

The TDP broke its alliance with the BJP in 2018 over the demand of special category status to the state which was part of the promises made to AP at the time of bifurcation in 2014. The TDP also aligned with the Congress in the 2019 general election and lost the electoral battle.

Keeping those differences aside, the TDP is looking forward to an alliance with the BJP to come back to power in the state. Its ties with the Jana Sena are said to have already been worked out and a formal announcement is awaited.

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu held the initial talks with BJP national president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah a month ago. Before the second round of talks were to begin, the BJP had changed the leadership in the state.

It is now to be seen how the alliance talks would go forward with the change of the leadership!