Hours after his release, Telangana BJP chief holds grand roadshow

Bandi Sanjay, chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party held a grand roadshow following his release from the Karimnagar district, where he had been incarcerated following his arrest in the SSC paper leak case. He was granted bail by a magistrate court this morning.

Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed Sanjay to be in a jubilant mood, with his arms raised a grin on his face. In the video a sea of BJP workers and supporters were seen waving party flags and shouting slogans and dancing to loud music. Sanjay was offered garlands by his followers and the BJP leader also paid floral tributes at the statue of Dr. B R Ambedkar.

Sanjay was arrested on Wednesday and sent to judicial custody until April 19 following a photograph of what appeared to be a question paper for Class 10 Hindu exam emerged online. It was sent to the politician on WhatsApp by one of the two accused, a journalist who has been arrested.

The arrests of Bandi Sanjay sparked a major row in Telangana, which is due to hold elections this year.

The BJP is hoping to make inroads in Telangana. The elections would also be a litmus test for Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao's prime ministerial ambitions and also the ability of his Bharat Rashtra Samithi to challenge the BJP on the national stage.

Bandi Sanjay's advocates have rejected the allegations as baseless and termed it a political vendetta. While granting bail, the court imposed several conditions which included that he will not be allowed to leave the country without permission.