"New To BJP Not To Politics": Malkajgiri Hopeful Etela Rajender Files Nomination

Telangana will vote in the Lok Sabha elections in the fourth phase on May 13. One of the most prestigious seats in Telangana is Malkajgiri, the biggest constituency in the country and a prestige seat held by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. BJP's Etela Rajender, who filed his nomination accompanied by Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Kishan Reddy, spoke to NDTV's Uma Sudhir. Despite being new to the BJP, he is not new to politics, having won seven MLA elections. The prominence given to him evoked resentment but Etela Rajender said he is a shrewd politician and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda have recognised what he brings to the party. He said his former party, the BRS, is irrelevant today and blames former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for refusing to learn from his mistakes in 2019. He said KCR does not trust his own colleagues. "He keeps tabs on everyone. My phone, my wife, son, daughter, and driver's phones were all tapped," he said.