Bandi Sanjay Kumar – BJP’s Hindutva Leader From Telangana’s Karimnagar

Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the current Member of Parliament representing the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency, emerges as a prominent figure in Telangana’s politics. Known for his strong Hindutva views and dynamic leadership, Kumar has carved a niche for himself in state politics, especially in the realm of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activism.

At the age of 12, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and was an active member as a youth. Popularly known as Bandi Sanjay in Telangana, his political career took root as a corporator in the Karimnagar Municipal Corporation, where he served diligently from 2005 to 2018. Although fielded by the BJP in the 2014 and 2018 state assembly elections, he faced defeat both times, losing to Bharat Rashtra Samiti’s (BRS) Gangula Kamalkar.

However, his breakthrough came in the 2019 general elections, when he secured victory in the state, surprising many due to the BJP’s relatively weak presence. Belonging to the backward class Munnuru Kapu, Kumar stands from the Karimnagar constituency in Telangana state. In the 2019 general elections from Karimnagar, Kumar won by securing 43.2%, beating 2014 winner TRS’s Boianapalli Vindo Kumar and 2009 INC winner Ponnam Prabhakar.

His ascendancy within the BJP ranks culminated in his election as the state president of BJP Telangana from 2020 to 2023, a tenure marked by significant successes for the party within the state. After stepping down from the post on July 4 last year, he was appointed as National General Secretary for the BJP by the end of the month.

Since its inception in 1952, Karimnagar has been a Congress stronghold, although various political outfits have won it during different general elections. Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s journey from a dedicated RSS member to a prominent BJP leader and Member of Parliament underscores his commitment to advance the Hindutva agenda in Telangana.

Bandi Sanjay spearheaded the party’s resurgence in the state, steering it to notable victories in assembly by-elections and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections of 2020. He advocated for a ‘double-engine government,’ emphasising the need for the BJP’s presence both at the Centre and in the state to propel Telangana towards rapid progress, or what he calls – “Ram Rajya.”.

Despite his political successes, Bandi Sanjay has been embroiled in controversies. He was arrested in April last year on allegations of orchestrating the leak of the Class 10 (SSC) Hindi examination paper to embarrass the ruling BRS government. Notably, in January 2023, his son was accused of physically assaulting another student after a video of the incident surfaced online. Kumar accused the opposition BRS party of leaking the video to tarnish his image.

Firmly rooted in Hindutva ideology, Sanjay Kumar champions the cause of Hindu unity and nationalistic fervor. He has been vocal in his opposition to policies perceived as detrimental to Hindu interests, such as the use of Urdu in official work and the state government spending on organising Ramzan festivities. He even protested against the proposed reservation (12 percent) for Muslims in educational institutions and government jobs. During the Hindu Ekta Yatra in Karimnagar, led by the Assam CM, Kumar claimed, “Had it not been for Hindutva, India would have been broken up into pieces, and become like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. There is no India without Hindutva,” as quoted in the Deccan Chronicle.