Just five months after joining the BJP, journalist Chintapandu Naveen, popularly known by his screen name ‘Teenmaar Mallanna’, has announced that he will be quitting the party. Teenmar Mallanna, a vocal critic of the TRS government and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), who is also known for his controversial takes, will now be part of a political movement called “7200 movement” which aims for “clean politics.”
According to BJP members, Mallanna is yet to submit his resignation. “7200 is a lakh times better than the BJP. I will not step into their office again,” Mallanna said, disassociating himself from the BJP.
Mallana gained prominence in the 2021 biennial Graduate Election for Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam Graduates’ MLC constituency, where he, as an independent candidate, put up a tough fight against the TRS party and emerged as the main contender, upsetting others. He secured a surprising 83,520 votes, while TRS candidate Palla Rajeshwar emerged victorious with 1,11,090 votes.
Mallanna, who identifies himself as a ‘journalist’, is a controversial figure known for making disparaging remarks. He runs an independent YouTube channel– Q news.
Though he claims to be a journalist, his works include him making sweeping statements and he often does not substantiate his claims with evidence.
On May 1, wearing a blue shawl, symbolising his Ambedkarite politics, Mallanna told his followers that the movement will strive for “clean politics” which will focus on three aspects–education, health and prompt justice. The movement will work on the principles of Dr Ambedkar’s politics where there will be no caste and religion, he said.
“The 7200 movement will eventually turn political, definitely,” he asserted. According to Mallanna, in another year, he will organise a huge meeting in Parade Ground, Hyderabad which will officially mark the launch of the movement. Through the movement, by 2030, he promised to clean up the state and rid it of corruption, encroachment and extortion.
The BJP leaders refused to comment on this development. “It is not the right time to comment,” said a leader, asserting that Mallanna is yet to submit his resignation.
Mallanna was unavailable for comment.
According to some, Mallanna was disappointed with the BJP leadership for not giving him a key role in the party, while the BJP accuses him of causing friction in the party and acting independently as a leader with his own identity.
Mallanna had joined the BJP in December last year shortly after he was released from jail. He was jailed for 73 days under various charges including extortion and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act). He was booked in a total of 38 cases. Some of the cases filed against him were for criticising KCR, his son KTR and his daughter Kavitha. His arrest was seen as a political vendetta by the TRS-led government. And similarly, him joining the BJP was seen as a move to seek shelter against the harassment by the TRS government.
His aggressive speeches and his language attacking KCR as a Dora ‘feudal lord’ cost him dearly, but it also found resonance amongst the Dalit-Bahujans. However, when he had joined the BJP, many Bahujan activists and his primary supporters– who espouse Bahujan ideology, had criticised his decision and felt that he had abandoned the cause.
Activist Sujatha Surepally, convener of Bahujan Prathighata Vedika had earlier said, “The ideology of Phule and Ambedkar is antithetical to the ideology of the BJP, a communal party, which divides people based on caste. People who work for Bahujans under no circumstances can join a communal party. Mallanna has betrayed the Bahujans. He is joining the party for his self-interest.”
Read more about Mallanna here: BJP’s new weapon in Telangana is a KCR-baiting YouTube sensation