Telangana BJP Chief's Vow At Temple In Wet Clothes After Team KCR's Charge

A top BJP leader in Telangana walked to a temple in wet clothes to make a pledge that he, as state BJP chief, had not indulged in any attempt to bribe MLAs to topple the state's Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government.

With cameras transmitting video lives Bandi Sanjay, Telangana's BJP chief, poured pots of water on himself and made a declaration in front of the temple priest and also 'waited' for Chief Minister K Chandrashekhara Rao, or KCR, who he had challenged to do the same.

This at Yadadri's Laxmi Narasimha Swamy temple that was renovated and built into an all-new temple by chief minister KCR and showcased as a matter of pride. The temple is very close to Munugode, where key by-elections will be held on Thursday.

The BJP leader had challenged KCR to go to the temple and make a vow in front of the deity in wet clothes to prove that he stands by the allegation that there was an attempt to buy his MLAs.

The Telangana police had said on Wednesday that they have detained three men after catching them in the act of bribing four TRS MLAs at a farmhouse belonging to one of them, Rohit Reddy. Rohit Reddy, the complainant in a case filed by the police, alleged that he was offered up to Rs 100 crore to switch to the BJP.

The three men accused of offering bribes were released by a judge late on Thursday, who said a notice under Section 41 should be issued before the accused are questioned. The Cyberabad police have now approached the high court.

This morning, audio conversations apparently between the accused men and the MLAs, referring to key BJP leaders, were leaked. The clips, not independently verified by NDTV, are not part of police evidence presented in court.

Bandi Sanjay, attacking KCR for not taking his "wet clothes pledge" at the Yadadri temple, said the MLA purchase allegations were "scripted, directed and produced" by the Chief Minister. He also said the audio tapes that were "leaked" were tampered with.

"KCR didn't turn up to take the vow. Let them put out the call records of the MLAs, the truth will be out. Why did the audio conversations take two days to create and release," the BJP leader questioned.

The BJP claims KCR has staged the controversy because he fears defeat in Munugode and wants to deflect attention from it.

Munugode is voting to pick a new legislator after Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who contested as a Congress candidate and won, resigned and joined the BJP.

For KCR, this is the first election since he debuted the "Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)" – the national version of his party – and launched a plan to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election.

Both the TRS and the BJP need the win as Munugode is seen as the semi-final ahead of next year's Telangana election.