Bandi Sanjay Kumar

Bandi Sanjay Kumar is an Indian politician from the state of Telangana. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from Karimnagar, Telangana in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Early life and education

Bandi was born on 11 July 1971 to B. Narsayya and B. Sakuntala. He completed his secondary schooling at Saraswathi Shishumandir, in Karimnagar, in 1986. Bandi was also active in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a youth, joining the organization at the age of twelve. He later obtained his master's degree in Public Administration in 2014 from Madurai Kamaraj University, located in Tamil Nadu.

Political career

Bandi was involved with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS' student wing, and eventually became town president and a state executive member of the organization. He was also involved in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP's youth wing. He also occupied leadership positions in this organization, becoming "town secretary, town pre[s]ident, national secretary of Kerala[,] and incharge of [Tamil Nadu]." In 1996, during BJP leader LK Advani's Suraj Rath Yatra, in which he campaigned across India for 35 days, Bandi was responsible for "ensuring seamless functioning of ...Advani's vehicle."

Bandi was elected a municipal corporator for Karimnagar's 48th division in 2005, and served in this role until his resignation in 2019, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha. Bandi was also fielded by the BJP in 2014 and 2018 as its candidate for the state assembly elections; he contested the Karimnagar seat both times. He was, however, unsuccessful in both elections, and lost to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti's Gangula Kamalakar.

In the 2019 Indian general election, Bandi was fielded by the BJP from the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency. He contested against the incumbent Member of Parliament, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti's B. Vinod Kumar, and the Indian National Congress' Ponnam Prabhakar. Riding on a wave of support in favor of incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, which extended to Telangana, Bandi was elected by a margin of 89,508 votes. His election was considered something of a surprise due to the BJP's prior lack of significant strength in Telangana, as well as the fact that his both his major opponents were politically well-established. With his election to the Lok Sabha, Bandi became one of four Bharatiya Janata Party MPs from Telangana, a historic first for the party. In addition to his position as an MP, Bandi also serves as a spokesperson for the Telangana state unit of the BJP.