Hindutva leader Raja Singh is unlikely to return to the BJP fold, with the saffron party grooming leaders in the Goshamahal constituency.
Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana is grooming leaders in the Goshamahal constituency, with sitting MLA T Raja Singh in all likelihood not returning to its fold.
Senior BJP leaders told Siasat.com that given how openly he has been criticising the state leadership, Raja Singh no longer has any support from within the party. While nothing is confirmed yet, BJP leader Madhavi Latha has been working the ground in Goshamahal of late and taking on Singh, an indication that she is vying for the seat.
Singh quit the BJP last year citing various issues, including his dissatisfaction with the existing leadership, around the time current state president N Ramchander Rao was appointed to the post. The Goshamahal MLA had himself thrown his hat in the ring for the same post, claiming later that he was threatened into not filing his nomination.
In the latest development, he has batted for the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) to enter Telangana politics.
More importantly, Madhavi Latha, who contested against incumbent Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi for his seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been interacting with locals regularly and has criticised Raja Singh as well. Asked whether there was any chance of the Goshamahal MLA returning to the BJP, party spokesperson NV Subhash told Siasat.com that it was not going to happen.
Asked whether Madhavi Latha would be the BJP candidate in the next Assembly elections, Subhash said the party was grooming several leaders for the Goshamahal seat. “Of course, he has his base there, but at the same time, the BJP is one of the forces. There are so many people who want to contest (from the party). Since he is not in the party, we are grooming our Karyakartas,” he said.
It may also be noted that the BJP floor leader in Telangana has not asked the Speaker to disqualify Raja Singh as the Goshamahal MLA, which is why he continues to be a member of the legislature.
Moreover, Singh “requesting” the JSP is another indication that he will not be going back to the BJP, given his acrimonious exit last year. It is no secret that the poster boy of Hindutva in Telangana clashed with the state leadership. The Goshamahal MLA had also courted controversy in 2022, when he was arrested and spent nearly three months in custody after making inflammatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed, in response to the state government allowing comedian Munawar Faruqui to hold a show in Hyderabad.
Siasat.com tried contacting Raja Singh for his comment, who did not respond till the time this story was filed.
Raja Singh was suspended by the BJP over those remarks, and the suspension was revoked just ahead of the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. Analysts believe he may use the JSP route to hold on to his seat, as he could be looking at a four- or five-cornered contest in the next state elections.
It remains to be seen how other parties take on both the BJP and Raja Singh if the MLA decides to contest on his own. Before he won the seat in 2014, Goshamahal was held by the late Congress leader and former minister M Mukesh Goud.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) functionaries from Hyderabad, however, remain sceptical about the split between Raja Singh and the BJP. A party functionary from the city pointed out that the fact that he is still the MLA speaks for itself. “Whatever they are saying, closer to the election, he may go back,” the functionary told Siasat.com.
The BJP in Telangana won eight of 119 seats in the 2023 Assembly elections with a vote share of about 14 per cent. Raja Singh was one of its MLAs and the Goshamahal legislator was also the party’s lone winner in the 2018 state polls, when the BJP was almost non-existent in the state.
This post was last modified on August 13, 2026 3:00 pm