Hyderabad: In an interesting development, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Telangana unit is not going to seek former member Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh to vacate his constituency. Singh had quit the party earlier this month over a host of issues including being disappointed over the appointment of veteran BJP leader Ramchander Rao as state president.
Senior BJP leaders Siasat.com spoke to said that the party will not take any action on that front against Raja Singh after his exit. After the Goshamahal MLA sent his resignation, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh accepted it on July 11. Unlike when an MLA defects, which draws the anti-defection law leading to them vacating their seat, Raja Singh has technically not defected.
“He submitted his resignation and quit. We did not make him leave. Right now we do not want to cause more controversy and create more issues. The BJP here has no such plan as of now. He will continue to be the Goshamahal MLA and until we ask the Speaker to take action, he will technically be seen as a BJP MLA,” said a senior BJP leader from Hyderabad. Other BJP leaders also said that while Raja Singh has gone on his own volition, they do not have any personal enmity with him.
Just days he quit the BJP, party leader Madhavi Latha, who who unsuccessfully contested for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in 2024, began censuring Raja Singh. She questioned his contributions to the party and challenged his recent controversial statements. The heated remarks came during an exclusive interview with TV9. Madhavi Latha openly challenged Raja Singh’s loyalty to the BJP.
When contacted, BJP Telangana president Ram Chander Rao said that no action is going to be taken against Raja Singh. “Whatever it is the party’s high command will decide,” he said.
Raja Singh in fact had expressed dissatisfaction over Ramchander Rao being appointed as the new BJP president for Telangana earlier this month. Raja Singh had also openly been defiant of the party’s decisions over the last year especially with regard to the appointment of cadre in his constituency. “He added that no individual is above the party and questioning the appointment of the new state president also means questioning the central leadership,” the BJP leader added.
His exit from the BJP comes at a time when the GHMC elections are likely to be held in the coming months. His presence in the party would have certainly helped the BJP which also did fairly well in the previous 2020 polls. Out of the 150 seats, the Congress won two, BRS 56, AIMIM 55 and BJP 48.
