An ex-MLC & Brahmin leader with ABVP roots, Ramchander Rao is new chief of faction-ridden Telangana BJP

The Print

02-07-2025

The party failed in its 2023 mission to grab power in the state but is currently at an all-time high in terms of numbers—eight Lok Sabha MPs, eight MLAs, three MLCs, and one Rajya Sabha MP.
Since Telangana's formation in 2014, the post has been held by two OBCs: K. Laxman and Bandi Sanjay, both from the influential Munnuru Kapu community, and one from the dominant Reddy caste, G. Kishan.
Hyderabad: In the Telangana unit riven by factionalism and squabbling for control among dominant Reddy and OBC leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command opted for N. Ramchander Rao, a Brahmin, as the new party chief, thus continuing with its broader trend of leadership experimentation in the southern state.
Rao, who took charge Tuesday after a grand ceremony, has the daunting task of taking everyone along on his shoulders as the party prepares for the 2028 polls.
Although Rao, a leader lacking mass appeal, was in the BJP high command's calculation, several heavyweights were also in the fray—Lok Sabha MPs Eatala Rajender, Dharmapuri Arvind, D.K. Aruna and Raghunandan Rao.
With profound humility and an unwavering sense of duty, I extend my deepest gratitude to the people of Telangana for their unwavering faith in our shared vision for the state. I thank the Almighty for bestowing upon me this immense responsibility to serve our great land and its… pic.twitter.com/AsZY9xy8JN
— N Ramchander Rao (@N_RamchanderRao) July 1, 2025
Union Minister Affairs Bandi Sanjay's name was also heard strongly, more so as a demand from the cadre. Popular but controversial leader MLA Raja Singh, too, vied for the post.
However, the high command nodded in favour of Rao as the unanimous candidate, though Singh attempted to spoil the party with a futile nomination attempt on Monday. The Goshamahal MLA resigned from the party later.
Rao, from an RSS-ABVP background, is a senior advocate and ex-MLC, who was elected in 2015 from the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahbubnagar graduates' constituency. He has also served as the Hyderabad city BJP president.
Down to the wire, the race was between Rao and Rajender till Monday morning, when the high command instructed Rao to file the election papers.
Rajender, who served as health and finance minister in the K. Chandrasekhar Rao cabinet, joined the BJP in 2021 amid a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government-launched probe into the acquisition of assigned lands for industries set up by his family. The buzz was that he came in with an assurance of a top post sooner or later.
Retaining Huzurabad in the by-poll that year, he lost from Huzurabad and KCR's Gajwel segments in 2023. He managed to win the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat five months later.
On Monday afternoon, as Rao filed his papers for the president post at the BJP headquarters in Hyderabad, accompanied by Bandi, Kishan, Aruna, MPs like Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, MLAs, among others, Rajender was away staging a protest against the demolition of encroachments by authorities at Jawahar Nagar in the city.
Though a popular face, Rajender, with a Left-wing background, is seen as an outsider within the party. Skipping the nomination event, he, however, attended the new president's induction ceremony on Tuesday, even declaring his support for Rao.
In the Telangana BJP riled by factions and frictions, a senior leader commented that 'acceptance is preferred over popularity' in order to set the house in order first. 'Regional parties need iconic, strong leaders, not national parties. In the state units especially, it is acceptance that is paramount,' the Lok Sabha MP told ThePrint.
Another leader said, 'In the largely OBC versus Reddy jostling in the party, Rao, a Brahmin, comes across as a no-threat to anyone. Given his seniority and vast experience, he should be able to take most of the leaders along towards the next polls.'
Unlike the Brahmins in north India, in Telangana and other southern states, their numbers and influence in political space are minimal.
Rao's three-year tenure will be till June 2028, ending five months before the Telangana assembly elections.
'That gives some hope to the now dejected hopefuls of the president's post. But depending on the situation then, the bosses might opt to go with the incumbent into the polls,' said the second leader.
It was not the case last time. The removal of Bandi Sanjay from the state chief post in July 2023, ahead of the Telangana polls, shocked the party cadres who were on a high after the Dubbaka and Huzurabad by-poll wins as well as a spectacular show in the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, with the Karimnagar MP at the wheel.
Bandi's removal ahead of crucial polls, amid swelling discord among senior leaders, was seen as a major setback for the party raring to grab power in the state at that time.
While the public impetus was lost with the removal of the firebrand leader, the party also suffered setbacks as several prominent leaders like M. Vijayashanthi jumped ship and joined the Congress before the November 2023 polls.
Vijayashanthi said the 'BJP lost stakes in Telangana the day Bandi was removed', and even reportedly attributed the high-command action to pressure from Eatala.
Kishan Reddy, often accused of being friendly or soft with political opponents, was brought in as a stopgap arrangement to quell discord, but was continued in the post, even after his re-induction into Narendra Modi's third government in 2024.
Sources indicated that Bandi lobbied in support of Rao, which edged out Eatala.
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Who is Ramchander Rao?
The BJP described Rao's appointment as 'a significant move aimed at strengthening the party's ideological and organisational base in Telangana'.
The BJP said in a statement that his appointment signalled the party's 'clear intent to return to its foundational principles and reinforce its grassroots connect in Telangana'.
An ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) leader during the volatile 1970s and 1980s, Ramchander Rao rose to prominence at Osmania University (OU) by challenging the dominance of Leftist student organisations.
'In an era when Naxalite ideology entrenched itself in the OU student politics, Rao led the ABVP's counter-mobilisation with grit and resolve. Despite facing physical attacks— including a grievous assault in the university library that left him hospitalised for weeks— Rao remained undeterred and continued to fight for the nationalist cause on campus,' a biography shared by the party says.
Starting legal practice in 1986 at the Nampally criminal courts and later the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Rao was designated as a senior advocate in 2012. He has represented clients across the Supreme Court, High Courts and tribunals, 'while continuing to provide legal support to party workers and the organisation', according to BJP leaders.
In the party, Rao held several key positions, including Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) secretary, state convenor of the legal cell, National Legal Cell member, state general secretary, and official spokesperson.
He served as a member of the Press Council of India from 2013 to 2015 and was also a member of academic and general councils at NALSAR University, Hyderabad and National Law University, Bangalore.
Rao was one of the accused in the University of Hyderabad student Rohit Vemula's 2016 suicide case.
'The party high command's decision to elevate Ramchander Rao is being welcomed by senior leaders and the cadre alike, who view him as a unifying force with a deep understanding of both the party's ideological vision and on-the-ground realities. He is known for his accessibility, humility, and unwavering loyalty to the party,' said the BJP press release.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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