BJP top brass in fix over 10 contenders for T unit chief

Hyderabad: Amid speculation of a change in leadership in Telangana BJP, the party top brass appears to be torn between appointing a successor to Kishan Reddy and allowing him to serve his tenure.
According to sources, Sunil Bansal, in-charge of Telangana party operations, put together a list of 10 candidates for consideration with Eatala Rajender emerging as a strong contender.However, his candidature has now been put on hold after certain sections within the party and RSS raised concerns.
Kishan Reddy, who is also Union coal minister, was appointed as Telangana party chief in July 2023 with a three-year tenure. Under his leadership, the party has done creditably well by winning eight MLA and MP seats each in the state in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Bansal's list included Eatala, Medak MP M Raghunandan Rao, party vice-president NVSS Prabhakar, general secretaries Kasam Venkateswarlu and G Premender Reddy, former MLC N Ramchander Rao, former national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao, Kamareddy MLA K Venkata Ramana Reddy, Nirmal MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and Warangal Lok Sabha candidate Chinta Sambamurthy.
"After submission of these 10 names, the central leadership wanted the numbers reduced and asked for submission of a fresh list. At one point, it seemed almost certain that Eatala would take over the party reins in Telangana. Owing to objections from RSS and seniors, there is a question mark over his candidature," a senior leader said.