Published Jun 08, 2026 | 2:32 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 08, 2026 | 2:38 PM
Bandi Sanjay's (L) son was arrested in a POCSO case a few weeks ago; J Ramakrishna (R)
Synopsis: Infighting in Telangana BJP has resurfaced after police arrested six party workers, including Bandi Sanjay loyalist J Ramakrishna, for defamatory banners against Etala Rajender. Ramakrishna was swiftly suspended, deepening rifts between Sanjay, Kishan Reddy, Arvind, and Rajender. The feud, worsened by Sanjay’s son’s POCSO case, shows the party’s weakened Opposition role and internal divisions.
The fratricidal war in the Telangana unit of the BJP is once again out in the open.
With the Telangana police carrying out arrests of some BJP functionaries on Sunday, 7 June, the simmering behind-the-scenes battle between Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay and a few other MPs has now become public.
Bandi Sanjay, whose son was arrested in a POCSO case a few weeks ago, always suspected that MPs Dharmapuri Arvind and Etela Rajender were behind the insinuatory campaign against him.
All three of them belong to the backward classes. It is an open secret that both Arvind and Rajender have been nursing ambitions of getting into the Union Cabinet.
Against this background, Sanjay’s position in the party has been considerably weakened after he was caught in the controversy surrounding his son.
A few days after the arrest of Sanjay’s son, huge flex banners came up in parts of Hyderabad against Etala Rajender accusing the latter of indulging in anti-party activities. Rajender promptly lodged a complaint with the police.
Also Read: Telangana Police seeks takedown of post lampooning Revanth Reddy’s Hitler remark
On 7 June, the Kukatpally police announced the arrest of six persons, including J Ramakrishna, former vice-president of the cantonment unit of the BJP, in the case relating to “false, defamatory content” displayed with the deliberate intention of tarnishing the image of Rajender.
Ramakrishna has been a known follower of Bandi Sanjay and Kishan Reddy. In fact, he was given the cantonment unit position in the BJP shortly after he joined the party in 2014 when Kishan was state unit president. Now, within hours of the arrest, the Telangana unit of the BJP has placed him under suspension.
On 8 June, Perala Shekhar Rao, a lifetime functionary of RSS and BJP who worked for the party in several states, put out a tweet accusing Ramakrishna of disproportionately benefiting from his business links with both Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay.
“Look at how the party is being run in Telangana,” Shekhar quipped.
In the last two years, ever since the Congress came to power, the state unit of the BJP has been accused of failing to play the role of the Opposition. On the other hand, the state unit remains divided, with the Union Ministers and other MPs ranged against each other.
