BJP Revokes MLA's Suspension, Brings Out Big Guns In First Telangana List

The BJP today released its first list of 52 candidates for the election to the 119-member Telangana Assembly. Three sitting MPs have been fielded in the polls, in line with the BJP's strategy in the other state polls due later this year, months ahead of the 2024 general election.

Significantly, the party has revoked the suspension of its legislator T Raja Singh and re-nominated him from Goshamahal seat. Mr Raja Singh, who had been suspended by the party amid the row over his controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad, was the only BJP candidate to taste victory in the 2018 Telangana polls.

The BJP legislator was arrested last year under the Preventive Detention Act. The Telangana High Court later set aside the charges and T Raja Singh was granted bail.

A statement issued by Union Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy said the BJP's central disciplinary panel had decided to revoke Mr Raja Singh's suspension "after due consideration of his explanation in response to the show cause notice served by the party". Soon after, the MLA thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah for revoking his suspension.

Three of the party's four MPs in Telangana feature in the BJP's first list of candidates. Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao has been fielded in Boath, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri from Korutla and former state BJP president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar from the Karimnagar assembly seat. G Kishan Reddy, now state chief, is the only BJP MP from Telangana not fielded in the state polls so far.

Etela Rajender, former health minister in the K Chandrashekar Rao cabinet, is the BJP's candidate in Huzurabad. Mr Rajender, earlier with the KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi, quit the BRS and joined the BJP in 2021 after he was removed as a minister. He was later elected an MLA in the Huzurabad bypoll in 2021.

The BJP has also fielded Mr Rajender from Gajwel Assembly constituency, where he will take on his former leader KCR. The BRS chief is also contesting from Kamareddy this time.

Out of the 52 names in the BJP's first list of candidates, 12 are women. The party is likely to play up its move to nominate 12 women candidates, especially against the backdrop of the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament.

Dr K Laxman, chief of the party's OBC morcha, also said the party is giving more opportunities to candidates from OBC, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.