Eatala Rajender rules out any leadership change in the Telangana BJP

A day after Rajender returned to the city from New Delhi, state party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar travelled to the national capital on 19 May.

Some reports said a section of the BJP, primarily comprising new joinees, wants Bandi Sanjay replaced by Rajender, while others said the party may appoint him as in-charge of the campaign for the Assembly elections that are likely to be held in November-December this year.

Related: Congress victory in Karnataka casts shadow on Telangana BJP

Karnataka shadow

The BJP’s performance in Karnataka — where it was reduced to 66 out of the 224 seats in the Assembly even as the Congress managed to get a simple majority, plus some more seats — has cast a long shadow on the party in different regions.

After the dust settled in Karnataka, those who joined the saffron party in recent times appeared to be having doubts regarding its growth in Telangana — as well as their personal growth in the party.

For instance, there were indications that the likes of Rajender — who joined the party from the TRS (now BRS) — and former MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy — who joined from the Congress — were finding the atmosphere a bit too suffocating.

Add to that the fact that Rajender’s Delhi visit assumed significance as he left for the national capital within a few days of the Assembly election results in Karnataka, and the pieces start to fall in place.

However, Rajender — who heads what is called the “Joinings Committee” — himself appeared to clear the air on that.

“The party can utilise my services wherever required,” he said, making it clear that he never asked for posts in the party. The central leadership would take care of the responsibilities to be entrusted to him, he said.

Rajender underscored the need for increasing the party’s strength to win forthcoming elections in Telangana.

To win elections, the cadres’ strength had to be increased by spreading the party activities, apart from welcoming leaders from other parties, he said.

Incidentally, the BJP’s rivals have dubbed the “Joinings Committee” as an admission that the saffron party is brazenly out shopping for leaders from established political parties.

Related: Telangana BJP struggles with new entrants, old guard

Hedging bets and training guns

Meanwhile, Rajender trained his guns on the Congress. He advised Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy to protect his own party leaders instead of criticising those of other parties.

Referring to the BRS government’s decision to scrap Government Order (GO) 111, he found fault with the government for making the city into a concrete jungle and demanded that it withdraw the GO immediately.

A large number of farmers were facing problems because of the Dharani portal, which was supposed to be a one-stop destination for carrying out agricultural land transactions, he said.

This, even as former MP and BJP leader Konda Vishweshwar Reddy told a vernacular news channel in New Delhi that more efforts should be made to fight the BRS, apart from making certain changes within the party to give due recognition to leaders.

He had contended that there seemed to be tacit understanding between the BJP and the BRS, as evidenced by the fact that K Kavitha, MLC and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, had not been arrested in the Delhi liquor scam case.

After his comments resulted in a furore, Reddy clarified that there was no such understanding — and that he had nit plans to leave the BJP.