Union Minister and senior BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar has targeted Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders over their campaigning practices ahead of the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll. Speaking at a rally for BJP candidate L Deepak Reddy, Sanjay questioned why Congress and AIMIM leaders, including Asaduddin Owaisi, never offer prayers at the Bhagya Lakshmi temple in Hyderabad.
Sanjay dared Revanth Reddy to bring Owaisi to the temple to perform an ‘aarti’ and challenged him to make newly inducted minister Mohd Azharuddin recite prayers and wear a ‘tilak’. The union minister criticized Congress leaders for wearing skullcaps during campaigning and accused them of being “greedy for votes” while neglecting traditional Hindu practices.
He further linked the controversy to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, suggesting that religious identity should be verified during elections. Sanjay also alleged that Congress distributed gifts such as grinders to Muslim women to gain their votes. He warned that burqas brought from Pakistan were being used to facilitate bogus voting in Telangana.
According to Sanjay, if Congress or BRS candidates win in Jubilee Hills, Hindus in the area would face restrictions in celebrating their festivals. He claimed that community halls could be converted into mosques or dargahs, and warned of disruption during Hindu festivals such as Vinayaka Chaviti, Dussehra, and Hanuman Jayanti.
Sanjay also accused Owaisi of plotting to make India an Islamic state by 2047 and claimed that Congress and AIMIM are working together to increase Islamic influence in Telangana. He urged Hindus in Jubilee Hills to unite and vote to protect their cultural and religious traditions.
The by-election in Jubilee Hills, scheduled for November 11, was necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of BRS. Congress has fielded his wife, Maganti Sunitha, as a candidate. The constituency has an estimated Muslim electorate of 1.3 lakh, making it a high-stakes contest for all parties involved.
Sanjay’s remarks highlight the growing political polarization in Telangana and the use of religion as a key election strategy. His statements are likely to intensify debates around faith, identity, and election campaigning in the state.
