N Ramachander Rao likely to be new Telangana BJP president

Hyderabad: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and ex-MLC N Ramachander Rao is likely to become the new president of the party in Telangana. Rao is the only person who will reportedly file the nomination for the post.

According to BJP sources, Rao will head the Telangana BJP for the next three years. The party is all set to conduct internal elections on July 1, but the decision is more or less a formality as the decision is taken by the central leadership. Apart from him, names of Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender and was also doing rounds as possible replacements for Union minister and Secunderabad MP Kishan Reddy was has been holding the position.

The development is important as it will set the tone for the BJP’s way forward in Telangana, especially after its impressive win in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections this year. The BJP here managed to win 8 out of the 17 Parliamentary seats in Telangana, giving the ruling Congress and the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) a rude shock, as the incumbent government expected to win more seats.

The BJP in Telangana managed to win eight MLA constituencies in the 2023 Assembly polls, and also increased its vote share. However, it made massive gains by taking about 39% of the vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Interestingly, even though analysts expected the BJP to grow and slowly eat into the main opposition space, which the BRS is holding onto in spite of its recent downward political trajectory, the political landscape still is majorly in a Congress versus BRS position.

Votes are likely to be cast on the same day and the result could also be out on the same day, but the final decision could take a day or two more. The decision for a new state head has been pending for about a year.

In fact, within the BJP, there had been opposition last year also from within to Eatala Rajender’s appointment as Telangana president, since he had come from the BRS and has been termed an ‘outsider’. However, given that he is a also a BC leader from the Mudiraj community, the BJP functionary said that he stands a strong chance of taking up the mantle as well.

After the BRS lost power last year in Telangana, it has been attacking the Congress 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.