Sacked TRS minister joins BJP, rekindles party's hopes in Telangana

The BJP has become hopeful of regaining its electoral momentum in Telangana with the joining of Eatala Rajender.

The former TRS minister's resignation from the Telangana assembly membership on Saturday has necessitated the Huzurabad by-poll, which is expected to be a close contest between the ruling party and the BJP.

The saffron party is expecting to repeat the Dubbaka success of November last year when it has stunned the TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, wresting the ruling party-held seat in a fiercely fought by-poll.

The BJP further shocked the TRS with an impressive performance in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls of December, improving its tally from four to 48 wards.

However, the BJP suffered election setbacks thereafter losing a sitting MLC seat to the TRS in March and was trounced by the latter to a distant third position in the Nagarjuna Sagar by-poll in April. The party's show was dismal in the Warangal, Khammam etc, civic body polls, too.

At such a time, analysts say, Eatala's banishment came as an opportunity for the BJP to regroup the dissatisfied leaders in the TRS and renew its political attack on KCR.

Eatala took the BJP membership in New Delhi on Monday, in the presence of union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP Telangana in-charge Tarun Chugh, and vowed to strive for BJP's expansion to all parts of Telangana.

A few other ex-TRS leaders, workers and student union leaders have joined the BJP along with Eatala, who said that there would be more defections from all the districts soon.

Working towards its target of 2023 assembly elections, the BJP, according to the state leaders, is strategising to accommodate the Telangana agitation leaders, others who lost prominence under the TRS's seven-year rule.

Eatala, one of the senior-most TRS leaders holding the crucial health department, was sacked by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao last month following charges of land grabbing by the minister and his associates.

Eatala was a close confidant of Rao and his lieutenant during the statehood agitation but a rift developed between the two in the last few years.

Accusing the CM of treating his ministers and legislators like slaves, Eatala has also alleged KCR of winning the elections lately with money and establishment power.