Delay in appointment of new Telangana BJP prez frustrates many

Hyderabad: Patience is stretching thin for many leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Telangana unit as the state president post is still undecided. The delay in choosing the party’s national president and the recent Pahalgam terror attack (and its subsequent tensions with Pakistan) have also caused inadvertent delay, said party leaders.

For nearly eight months, the names of at least half a dozen BJP leaders including that of Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender, ex-MLC Ram Chander Rao and Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar have been doing rounds as top contenders for the post. Bandi Sanjay, who was earlier not considered to be in the race, has once again found his name in the reckoning as he had earlier held the post till he was replaced in 2023 by incumbent and fellow Union cabinet member G Kishan Reddy.

Bandi Sanjay, who has been aggressive with his Hindutva rhetoric in Telangana ever since he became BJP’s state president, was in fact in leadership rift with Eatala Rajender over the post. He stepped down in July 2023 and was replaced by Secunderabad Lok Sabha MP G. Kishan Reddy. That change also changed the tone in the party’s approach from the Hindutva approach to ‘development’.

“A new BJP national president has not been selected, so because of that delay it is being delayed here. It is no big deal. Moreover, from the last one month, things have been on hold due to the Pahalgam attack. Bandi Sanjay also may not want to leave his Union minister position as it is a bigger role in terms of administrative experience,” a senior BJP leader told Siasat.com.

The delay by the central leadership of the BJP is causing some consternation in the party ranks in Telangana. Goshamahal BJP MLA in March this year took a swipe asking whether the president would be appointed by the BJP’s Telangana committee or the Central committee, adding that if the state committee appoints the president it will be a ‘rubber stamp’.

The Goshamahal MLA opined that it is better if the president is appointed by the central committee. “Previous presidents formed groups within the party which hampered the BJP’s image,” Raja Singh alleged during a press meet.

Why BC voters matter for the BJP Telangana prez post

Both Eatala and Bandi Sanjay belong to the Backward Classes (BC) community, which occupies about 47% of the population in Telangana. Observers believe the BJP in Telangana has been trying to bring to BC voters to its side and that both of them may help. However, with Eatala coming from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and being what some call “an outsider”, old-timers may prefer someone like Ram Chander Rao who has been in the BJP since his college days.

The BJP not choosing a state president for Telangana may also be detrimental to its growth in the state, as party insiders believe they will lost steam with the delay. After the BRS lost power to the Congress in the 2023 elections, it has been attacking the ruling government and chief minister Revanth Reddy over a host of issues.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao and ex-finance minister Harish Rao have been constantly criticising the state government on issues with regard to welfare schemes and other programmes. It is to be seen if the BJP can edge out the BRS to take up that space.