BDP chairmanship race heats up
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday January 6, 2015 14:20
Headlining the title for BDP chairmanship will be party veterans Tebelelo Seretse and brother-in-law Ramadeluka “Ndelu” Seretse.
Entering the seemingly fraternal race will be a relatively new face in Tati West MP Biggie Butale.
Tebelelo is a tested fighter who has won and lost many battles. Ndelu, though known not to be a slugger is fairly respected within the party and poses a serious challenge to the other two contenders.
While coming in as the under dog, Butale may just stage an upset in a party that is increasingly gravitating away from its conservative posture.
A lawyer, a pastor and businessman, Butale’s humble, but unassuming demeanour may just do the trick.
Furthermore the BDPs file and rank is yearning for a known decisive figure who is untainted by the BDP’s squabbles.
Butale believes he meets the qualification.
“The party needs to be reformed and I feel I am a the right person for the task.
“And for us to win the 2019 elections, a lot needs to be done.
I have people that I am working with and our lobby list will come out at the right time.
“We are still in negotiations with some people that we want for certain positions,” Butale said.
Daring, confident and a street fighter Tebelelo lost the Kanye elections that eventually resulted in the split of the BDP.
At the time she lost to then party strongman Daniel Kwelagobe. She is battle scarred and can be as ferocious as a lioness any day.
Meanwhile, Ndelu has said he is contesting because there will be a vacancy for the post and the party needs renewal for it to be relevant.
“For us to deliver well and according to our party manifesto, we need to be relevant. Again, we have to know whether we are aligned to the aspirations of the people.
“There are fundamental issues that need to be strengthened and improved,” Ndelu said.
He said the reason why he had not contested before was because it was not possible for him to serve as a minister. “People should know that politics is not for people who can say a lot of untruths. Even Christians can be active in politics,” said the former Defence and Justice minister, who is a staunch Christian.
It was not possible to reach Ambassador Tebelelo Seretse who was reported to be mourning a relative.