Opposition Condemns Bandi Sanjay’s Remarks as Divisive Ahead of Crucial By-Election

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar sparked outrage on Thursday night with inflammatory remarks at a BJP rally in Borabanda, declaring he would "rather cut my head off" than wear a skullcapfor votes while mocking Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for donning one during a campaign event. The comments, made ahead of the November 11 by-election in the Jubilee Hills constituency, were part of Sanjay's broader attack on the ruling Congress for alleged vote-bank appeasement, accusing Reddy of faking religious gestures to woo Muslim voters despite leaders like Mohammed Azharuddin and AIMIM's Akbaruddin Owaisi rarely wearing the cap.

Sanjay, a vocal hardline BJP figure and Karimnagar MP, escalated the rhetoric by framing the bypoll as a battle between "Hindu regime" and "Islamic regime," urging the majority community to unite as a vote bank like minorities do for Congress and AIMIM. "Under Ramchander Rao's leadership, we are ready to fight this war for you... Give us the confidence, and we will finish Congress and AIMIM here," he thundered, claiming the duo wants to transform Telangana into an "Islamic state" through demographic changes and political collusion.

The minister challenged Reddy's secular credentials, asking if he would dare make Azharuddin recite the Ganesh mantra 'Vakratunda Mahakaya' or take Asaduddin Owaisi to Bhagyalakshmi temple for Hindu votes. Sanjay positioned himself as an "unapologetic Hindu" who refuses to "insult other faiths by faking namaz," while alleging Congress and BRS historically appease minorities who vote en masse, questioning why Hindus cannot do the same for a "game-changer" effect.

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Opposition parties swiftly condemned the speech as divisive communal politics aimed at polarising voters in the Muslim-majority Jubilee Hills seat, vacated after BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath's death. Congress leaders accused Sanjay of hate speech that threatens social harmony, with demands for action from the Election Commission, while AIMIM dismissed it as desperate BJP tactics in a constituency where it has negligible presence.

As campaigning enters its final stretch, Sanjay's remarks have amplified tensions in a contest pitting BJP's Rammohan Rao against Congress newcomer Madhu Yaskhi Goud, with BRS and AIMIM also in the fray. The episode underscores the BJP's aggressive Hindu consolidation strategy in urban pockets, even as national leaders push inclusive messaging elsewhere, risking backlash in a state where the party remains a marginal player.

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