Eatala Rajender, a dyed-in-the wool leader for his fans, has won Huzurabad for seven consecutive terms. This time around, he is directly taking on BRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Gajwel in a perceptible grudge match, owing to their bitter past from one-time friends to now foes.
Currently designated as the BJP’s campaign committee chairman, Eatala is also probably the chief ministerial face of the party which has promised to appoint a backward class leader for the top job. In a freewheeling chat with CNN-News18, Eatala spills the beans on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big promise to him.
Edited excerpts
Am I speaking to the future CM of the state?
(Chuckles) How can I say that? Whatever the party’s decision is, I will abide by that. The people of Telangana will decide first, then the party.
Is it true that after the LB stadium meeting, PM Modi spoke to a closed group of Backward Class leaders in which he promised to make you the chief minister?
Yes, he said so. There were 36 representatives from all communities. The prime minister told them that since Independence, combined Andhra Pradesh and now Telangana have never had an OBC leader as the chief minister so help us win these elections and I will make Etala-Ji the CM (is baar humein jeetaye, main Etala-ji ko CM banaunga).
Would you say this is the biggest promise coming from the prime minister? Did you expect this?
The prime minister has been deeply involved in matters related to Telangana. The pitch to make an OBC the chief minister is the collective decision of the party after thorough analysis of the ground situation. After the LB stadium meeting, the PM, while speaking to community leaders, pointed towards me and said ‘inko CM banayengay'(we will make him the CM).
If the PM indeed promised so, won’t it further fuel internal factions within the BJP since there are other prominent OBC leaders like Bandi Sanjay, Arvind Dharmapuri?
Why will there be an internal rift? If voted to power, the central command will only pick the most deserving chief ministerial candidate. I’m the senior-most leader in the party with a record of being a seven-time MLA. I have handled portfolios like health and finance. So if the PM made me a promise, it was only after seeing my track record.
What is the mood on the ground here in Huzurabad?
The entire constituency is backing me, they have the strongest willpower and commitment. I have been winning consecutively because of them.
You are directly taking on the chief minister at Gajwel. Besides the political battle, do you nurse a personal grudge against KCR owing to your bitter past?
KCR has murdered democracy in Telangana. He is deeply entrenched in corruption, distributing ill-gotten money during elections. To save democracy, we must oust them.
Did you not face an ideological conflict while shifting to BJP from TRS?
In politics, there is only one ideology — if people’s blessings are with you and you work for their welfare, then there is nothing bigger than that. Seva dharam is the biggest dharam. Modi Ji’s slogan ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka vikas, Sabka vishwas’ is the spirit with which all of us work; it’s not coloured by any ideology.
How would you rate KCR, since you worked with him for a long time and managed key portfolios?
People blessed him twice, but he misused that. There is a strong wave of anti-incumbency against him. His defeat is imminent.
What is your vision for Telangana?
First is to bring the BJP to power. The issue of unemployment is a serious one. We want to issue job calendars and solve that. Then we want to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor by ending this corruption-raj. We want to end this undemocratic attitude.
BRS says those who face ED, IT, CBI run to BJP for protection. BRS says you did the same?
Had that been the case, would these people have stood by me after all these years?
Are you confident of defeating KCR in Gajwel?
I am 100 per cent sure that KCR will be ousted this time.