Eatala Rajender likely to be appointed Telangana BJP chief

Hyderabad: Telangana BJP MP Eatala Rajender, who was an aspirant for a berth in the Union Cabinet, is likely to be appointed as President of the party’s state unit.

Rajender, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri constituency in the just-concluded elections, has been summoned to New Delhi by the party leadership.

The former minister is likely to meet Union Minister and top party leader Amit Shah later in the day.

Current state BJP President, G Kishan Reddy on Sunday took oath as the Cabinet Minister.

Re-elected from Secunderabad constituency, he was also a member of the previous Cabinet.

Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar was sworn-in as the Minister of State.

Though Rajender and two other MPs were strong contenders for Cabinet berths, the BJP preferred Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay mainly due to their association with it for a long time and their loyalty.

Rajender had joined the BJP in 2021 after resigning from the TRS (now BRS) when he was dropped from the Cabinet following allegations of land encroachment.

He also quit as MLA from Huzurabad and won the bye-election held the same year.

However, Rajender could not get re-elected from Huzurabad in the November 2023 elections.

He contested for the Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri and won the seat with a huge margin of over 3.91 lakh votes, the highest margin of victory among BJP MPs in the state.

If appointed BJP state chief, Rajender will succeed Kishan Reddy, who has been holding the post since July last year. The Union Minister was given the additional responsibility after Bandi Sanjay was removed as party President due to dissidence in the BJP.

Rajender was one of the leaders who were reportedly unhappy with Sanjay’s style of functioning.

The BJP fought both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections under Kishan Reddy’s leadership and the party increased its tally in the 119-member Assembly to eight from just one seat in 2018.

With an impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party doubled its tally to eight. It also increased its vote share to 35 per cent.

Now with elections over, the BJP leadership is looking to appoint someone as a full-time state President to strengthen the organisation across Telangana.

Rajender, a leader from the Backward Class, 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 that if voted to power, a leader from the Backward Classes would be made the chief minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also addressed a public meeting titled ‘OBC Atma Gaurava (self-respect) Sabha’ in Hyderabad as part of the party’s election campaign.