HYDERABAD: The mood among the BJP leaders and cadre is upbeat mood after party candidate Etala Rajendar scored a stunning victory over TRS candidate Gellu Srinivas Yadav in the high-voltage Huzurabad byelection.
Much attention was focused on the byelection which was seen as a semifinal before the Assembly elections that are scheduled in December 2023.
Interestingly, Rajendar, a staunch follower of TRS founder president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, followed the footsteps of his ‘political guru’ to upstage him.
Chandrashekar Rao had challenged the then ruling Telugu Desam and Congress governments with a series of byelections. Taking the support of people, he had succeeded in defeating his entrenched political rivals.
Rajendar, associated with the TRS and Chandrashekar Rao since the inception of the party, tread the same path. After he was suspended from the TRS, political observers believed that Rajender might float a political party or fight against the TRS government as an independent.
Having close knowledge of the inner workings, strengths and strategies of the TRS, Rajendar joined the BJP. To be sure, he had met with Congress leaders before taking the plunge.
Rajendar towards his last days in the TRS had said that all Telangana statehood protagonists were “owners” of TRS, and not just Chandrashekar Rao and his family. The remarks widened the gap between Chandrashekar Rao and Rajendar
The strategic decision of Rajendar worked out, as the saffron party leaders and cadre worked hard for his victory in the high-voltage byelection.
Meanwhile, the BJP state leadership is happy with its gradual advance in Telangana state. The victory of four MPs in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the good performance in the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation and GHMC elections and the Dubbak bypoll victory have boosted the morale of BJP cadre.
The party leadership believes that it may form the government in the state in next Assembly elections, though that is some way to go.
