Telangana BJP unit likely to get new president by January

With Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls now over, BJP State leaders are expecting party leadership to begin the exercise of selecting new State president

Hyderabad: The BJP’s Telangana unit is likely to get a new president in the second week of December or January before the appointment of the party’s new national president.

With the Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls now over, the BJP State leaders are expecting the party leadership to begin the exercise of selecting the new State president.

---

The party had already begun the exercise for organisational elections for the sake of electing the new BJP national president. It may be recalled that the BJP had extended the tenures of the BJP national president as well as those of several State units, including that of Telangana.

The election process will start initially from Booth Committees and take place later at State and national levels. Each booth committee will have 11 members, including the president. Active party members will play a key role in the elections of the new committees.

The competition for the BJP State president position has captivated the party as well as political observers who are keenly waiting to see who will be chosen to lead the State unit. There are considerable differences of opinion among senior leaders regarding who should succeed G Kishan Reddy as party president.

Sources say Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri and Medak MP M Raghunandan Rao are aspiring for the position. Party leaders claim that Eatala Rajender has a fair chance, as he is a strong OBC leader with known organising capabilities and his appointment would definitely help consolidate the OBC vote bank in the State.

But his drawback is that he is a relatively new comer to the BJP, having defected from the BRS in which he had held key positions. Hence, whether the party State leaders and functionaries will accept him as president is a big question.

On the other hand, Arvind, a two-time MP,  has a track record of electoral success, having defeated high-profile opponents in both the 2019 and 2024 elections. His community, the Munnuru Kapu, holds significant political sway in the State. Additionally, Arvind is believed to be in the good books of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and key RSS figures.

The party is seeing Raghunandan Rao as another strong candidate, who could lead the party successfully. His supporters claim that his leadership could weaken the influence of the BRS, as he has extensive knowledge of the political strategies of top leaders of the Congress and BRS.

Former MLC N Ramchander Rao is also in the race, relying on his clean image and seniority within the party. As a respected advocate, he has a solid reputation within the RSS. His supporters, including the party’s old guard, prefer his candidacy over newer entrants.

The party insiders say the party high command may choose a leader who can strengthen the party and take all the leaders together with the aim of an improved performance in the State in the 2029 elections.  However, the selection of a new party president will depend upon the discretion of Modi and Shah.