Is Eatala Rajender planning to leave BJP?

Sources said the Congress party has offered Eatala the Karimnagar Lok Sabha ticket to defeat his arch rival and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay

Hyderabad: Former MLA and senior BJP leader Eatala Rajender is once again in news with reports that he was planning to leave the BJP and join the Congress before the Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said the Congress party has offered Eatala the Karimnagar Lok Sabha ticket to defeat his arch rival and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay. Since Congress has won a majority of the Assembly seats falling under the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency, the party was of the opinion that if a popular leader like Eatala contested from the seat he could easily register victory.

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Already, a war of words was on between Eatala and Bandi on social media platforms and the BJP high command has taken a serious note of it. Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the State last month had warned both the leaders and asked them to resolve their issues. Ever since Bandi was removed from the post of State BJP chief, he had been targeting Eatala and trying to create problems for him.

During the Assembly elections too, there were reports that Eatala would quit the BJP and join Congress, but he stayed and contested from Huzurabad and Gajwel. He lost in both seats. However, this time it looks like he had made up his mind to join the Congress. However, there were also reports that Eatala was trying for the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat and that he had already told his plan to the party central leadership.

Recently, Eatala told media persons that the news about his leaving BJP was false and that he would continue in the party. However, his supporters claim that their leader was not happy in the BJP and that he may take a call on leaving it soon.