Kishan Reddy BJP’s new Telangana chief, Bandi Sanjay MoS at Centre, Etala to steer campaign committee?

HYDERABAD: Despite denials and show of unity, a change in guard in Bharatiya Janata Party’s Telangana leadership has been formalised, if the latest speculation is anything to go by. A day after Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy trashed the reports to this effect, strong indications emerged that the BJP Central leadership had formally decided to replace the incumbent and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar with Kishan Reddy.

As part of a compromise or rehabilitation formula, Bandi Sanjay is speculated to be inducted into Narendra Modi’s Union Council of Ministers as a minister of State while recent migrant and Huzurabad MLA Etala Rajender would be made chairman of party’s election campaign committee. The BJP Central leadership is speculated to be firm on this reshuffle in the Telangana unit in its determination to spare no effort to galvanise the cadre, especially in the wake of the party’s debacle in Karnataka elections.

It is speculated that the mini-shakeup was all but certain and an announcement, which is yet to come from the BJP, would only be a mere formality.

The media circles across the country are abuzz with the talk of the BJP central leadership effecting a change of guard in some of the States, especially the poll-bound ones, in order to bolster its prospects at the hustings. As part of the speculated plan, BJP intends to deploy Union ministers hailing from these States as the party’s State presidents to ensure better preparedness for the election battles. It is believed that Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar would be appointed as BJP’s Madhya Pradesh unit president while Bhupendra Pradhan would be given the task of the party in his home state Odisha.