Telangana BJP chief pick narrows down to three contenders

Hyderabad: The race for the post of Telangana BJP president is a triangular fight between former BJP MLC N Ramchander Rao, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri and the new entrant in the lotus party, Malkajgiri Parliamentarian Eatala Rajender.

With the conclusion of the Delhi Assembly elections, in which the BJP’s victory resulted in AAP’s exit, the party central committee is likely to announce the new state president shortly. The post is currently being held by Union minister and Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy.

Though many leaders like DK Aruna and Raghunandan Rao were also trying to be in the race and lobbied for themselves in the national capital, NewsMeter has learnt that the central committee has zeroed in on three names.

Results of Telangana Caste Survey weigh in

The recent Telangana Caste Survey, while subject to correction, revealed that 56.33 per cent of the State’s population belong to Backward Classes (BCs) of the total 3.70 crore Telangana residents. Since Eatala is the face of BCs, his pick would indicate that the party wants to appeal to the highest population by caste.

If Ramchander Rao is picked, then it can be credited to his decades-long loyalty to the party and his proximity to former national secretary Ram Madhav. Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri was also lobbying hard and made several trips to Delhi after the inauguration of the Turmeric Board.

The selection of the Telangana BJP president will indicate whether the ruling party is inclined to give the mantle to old-timers or allow leaders from the Backward Classes to lead the cadre. Earlier, Union home minister Amit Shah, during a rally in Hyderabad, sprung a surprise by announcing that the BJP would pick a leader from BCs as the chief minister if they came to power in Telangana.

What are the criteria, seniority or caste-equation?

Speaking to NewsMeter, an aspirant, who didn’t want to be named said, “There were many leaders who tried to be in the race, but the pick will be between old timers who are committed to the party’s ideology or a BCs leader. The BJP cadre is strongly advocating that old timers should be given the chance to lead the party because the new entrants have already been given election tickets and even Central positions. The other criteria would be to choose a leader who can counter/attack the opposition in the state and even fight ideologically and policy-wise.”

The BJP Central Committee which consists of State presidents, in-charges and organising secretaries is likely to announce the name in the coming week. The ‘team’ has conducted a robust recce by speaking to cadre, media and senior leaders and gathered intelligence, as told to NewsMeter.

Union Minister and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay is not interested

Bandi Sanjay, who rose from a corporator to Union minister and once led the party in Telangana, is not interested in taking up the mantle. Loved by the ‘kattar Hindutva’ cadre but hated by some of his colleagues, he wants to stay away from the president’s post.

Whoever the new president is, they will have to fight two sharp young axes; CM Revanth Reddy at the helm of affairs in the state and BRS working president KT Rama Rao in the opposition.