Etela Rajender was a TRS loyalist from 2003 to 2021, having taken an active part in the movement for a separate Telangana state, which put him in a very powerful position. He was considered next only to KCR, and KCR even made Etela a cabinet member, making him the health minister of the state in the second term. Everything seemed to be good, until KCR and Etela fell out in 2021, after which Etela joined the BJP.
As soon as he joined the BJP, he contested from the party in the Huzurabad by-polls and even won, putting him in a very advantageous position. This increased his value to the party and even took him to the notice of the central BJP leadership. Etela has now reportedly become so important to the Central leaders, that they are said to be considering Etela as the next President of the Telangana BJP.
Bandi Sanjay is the current President, and his tenure will end in 2023. He was appointed as the president in 2020, and after his three-year tenure ends in 2023, Etela is expected to become the President, as the BJP leadership is said to be of the thought that Etela is the only person who would be able to give a stiff competition to KCR and maybe even succeed in dethroning him.
