Hyderabad: Eatala Rajendra likely to be appointed Telangana BJP chief

Hyderabad: Telangana BJP MP Eatala Rajender, keen on a berth in the Union Cabinet, is likely to be appointed as the party’s state unit president. Rajender, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri constituency in the recently concluded elections, has been summoned by the party leadership to New Delhi. The former minister is likely to meet Union minister and top party leader Amit Shah today. MS Education Academy Current state BJP president G Kishan Reddy was sworn in as a Cabinet minister on Sunday. Re-elected from the Secunderabad constituency, he was also a member of the previous Cabinet. Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar was sworn in as a Minister of State. Though Rajender and two other MPs were strong contenders for a Cabinet berth, the BJP preferred Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay mainly due to their long-standing association with the party and their loyalty. Rajender had joined the BJP in 2021 after resigning from the TRS now (BRS) after he was dropped from the Cabinet following allegations of land encroachment.

He also quit as MLA from Huzurabad and won the by-election held the same year. However, Rajendra could not get re-elected from Huzurabad in the November 2023 elections. He contested to the Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri and won the seat by a massive margin of over 3.91 lakh votes, the biggest margin of victory among BJP MPs in the state. If appointed the BJP state chief, Rajendra will replace Kishan Reddy, who has been in the post since July last year. The Union minister was given the additional responsibility after Bandi Sanjay was removed from the party president’s post due to discontent in the BJP. Rajendra was one of the leaders who were reportedly unhappy with Sanjay’s style of functioning. The BJP contested both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections under Kishan Reddy’s leadership and the party increased its tally to eight seats in the 119-member Assembly from just one in 2018. With a stellar performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party doubled its tally to eight seats. It also increased its vote share to 35 per cent. Now that the elections are over, the BJP leadership is considering appointing someone as a full-time state president to strengthen the organisation in Telangana. Rajender, a backward class leader, is known for his organisational skills and is seen as the right choice to prepare the BJP for the next assembly elections. In the recent assembly elections, the BJP had promised to make a leader from the backward class the chief minister if it came to power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also addressed a public meeting called ‘OBC Atma Gaurav Sabha’ in Hyderabad as part of the party’s election campaign.