Telangana MLA Eatala’s ‘covert’ comments seen as a sign of suffocation in BJP

Sources said that Rajender will reach Delhi on Friday to attend a private function, and he may meet BJP national president JP Nadda during his visit.
Telangana BJP MLA Eatala Rajender (File photo | EPS)
Telangana BJP MLA Eatala Rajender (File photo | EPS)

HYDERABAD: Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender is understood to be feeling quite suffocated in the BJP as party leaders are not strengthening his hands, scared that he might become a threat to them.In fact, Rajender is reportedly under the impression that his own colleagues in the BJP are trying to demoralise him whenever he makes any move to take on Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. His aides feel that KCR has his converts in the BJP and is getting intelligence from them on which BRS leaders are planning to jump ship.

Rajender’s recent comments that all parties have KCR’s coverts and that the BJP is no exception have added fuel to the fire that the Huzurabad MLA was feeling quite uncomfortable in the party. Rajender’s loaded comments have set the speculation mill on fire that he was gunning for an important leader in the party. He had also said that since there are KCR’s coverts in the BJP, no one was joining the saffron party for fear of action by the BRS supremo.

In this context, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy’s comments at an informal interaction with media persons on Thursday assumed significance. He said that Rajender was not very sure whether his goal of taking down KCR would be fulfilled by staying in the BJP. “Now, Eatala knows that BJP and KCR are one and the same,” Revanth said.

Revanth is not the only Congress leader to say this. Cheruku Sudhakar and Kodanda Reddy said that Rajender, G Vivek and Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who joined the saffron party, would not be able to integrate themselves into the BJP’s ideology as they are not from the RSS stock. The Congress leaders’ sympathetic comments about Eatala are being interpreted as signals to him to join the grand old party as it is the only party that fights both KCR and the BJP.

Rajender had joined the BJP with the sole intention of defeating KCR but whenever he says he will take KCR on at the latter’s constituency at Gajwel, other BJP leaders snub him, saying that who contests from where is a decision that the party national leadership would take and not the aspirants.

Rajender’s confidantes say that his sensational victory in Huzurabad had left the other leaders in the BJP insecure. However, Rajender is also seething inwardly over the BJP leadership not giving any importance to his followers who joined the saffron party along with him.

In the BJP’s core group, the cold war between Rajender and party State president Bandi Sanjay has been coming up often. Rumours of Sanjay being accommodated into the Union Cabinet have petered out with Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising him sky high at the party’s national executive in Delhi, for his padayatra and for his unswerving and uncompressing fight against KCR. Analysts surmise that PM’s comments indicated that Sanjay would be left undisturbed in Telangana.

According to sources, some leaders who are not on good terms with Rajender had complained to the party leadership that the MLA was making a whisper campaign that he would soon be made the president of the BJP state unit and then he would take his supporters in key positions in the party. Sources said that the party’s national leadership might soon talk to Rajender to find out who in his opinion are KCR’s coverts in the BJP.

Sources said that Rajender will reach Delhi on Friday to attend a private function, and he may meet BJP national president JP Nadda during his visit.

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