Etala Rajender at political crossroads; BJP faces yet another internal turmoil in Telangana

Once Telangana’s Finance Minister and a rising BJP face, Etala Rajender now faces political isolation amid infighting with Bandi Sanjay. With his options narrowing and the RSS reportedly wary of him, his next political move remains unclear

Hyderabad: Etala Rajender is no political lightweight in Telangana. Or at least, he wasn’t. Now, cornered by internal attacks within the BJP, primarily from Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay, and having lost what might have been his final shot at the State president’s post, Rajender finds himself staring at a political existential crisis.

Given his history, how he managed to remain a force to reckon with after being dismissed from the BRS Cabinet and later his exit from the party as well, Rajender could find some way to claw back, but how and when is a million-dollar question.

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From being Telangana’s first Finance Minister, once considered the Number Two in the BRS, his life in the BJP, which he joined in 2021, has not been smooth sailing at all. At the time of his joining the BJP, it is said that he was promised to be made the party’s State president, and later, even the BC Chief Minister that the BJP has been promising for Telangana during elections.

But the promises not being kept were not the only issue that he faced. That was Bandi Sanjay, who, as State president, had famously led the BJP to an unprecedented performance in the GHMC elections with 48 out of 150 seats. As the party got ready to face the 2023 Assembly elections, and Bandi facing the heat for different issues, Rajender saw his chances of sitting on the party chief’s chair. However, the BJP chose to replace Bandi not with Rajender but with G Kishan Reddy. Bandi, in turn, suspected Rajender’s role in the leadership reshuffle and never forgave him for it.

Then came the Assembly poll debacle. Rajender, who had won seven elections on the trot till then, lost, that too from both Gajwel and his bastion of Huzurabad. Just as many began writing him off, he bounced back, convincing the party to give him an MP seat, and he won from Malkajgiri.

Even as he thought he was getting back into a strong position to become a contender once again for the State president post, it is widely believed that this time, Bandi got back at him, and got N Ramchander Rao to become the State chief. And Bandi hasn’t stopped since. His recent statements on factions within the BJP, an ‘anomaly’ he said existed only in Huzurabad, Rajender’s home turf, saw Rajender come out all guns blazing, warning Bandi with an assertion that he knew every inch of Karimnagar and Huzurabad and that he had supporters in every ward and village in the district.

This response from Rajender, however, has now made things tougher for him, with the open outburst taking the stand-off between the two leaders, both from the same BC community, to a point of no return. It remains to be seen how the party will handle the situation, which could be one of the first challenges for the new State president as well.

While Bandi is in quite a strong position in the party, the same, however, cannot be said of Rajender. His troubles include that the RSS remains wary of him, owing to his early political days as a left-leaning activist, an ideological mismatch that has reportedly stunted his rise within the party.

Speculation is rife about his next move. A return to the BRS seems unlikely, and the Congress, too, doesn’t appear to be a viable option at present. The idea of launching his own party is being floated, but many view it as politically and financially unfeasible.

For now, Etala Rajender remains a man in search of political footing, his next step uncertain, his political future at a crossroads.