Hyderabad: Former MLC Ramchander Rao was on Tuesday elected unopposed as the Telangana BJP president, Central Minister Shobha Karandlaje announced. She was serving as the returning officer for the internal party election.
Rao’s election followed a series of unexpected developments on Monday. Acting on directives from the BJP national leadership, Rao filed two sets of nomination papers for the top party post. Sitting MP Etela Rajender, Dharmapuri Arvind and Bandi Sanjay, who were previously in the fray, did not file nominations.
Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh attempted to contest but his nomination was not accepted due to insufficient support from council members.
With no other valid nominations, Ramchander Rao emerged as the sole candidate and was formally declared elected on Tuesday afternoon. He will now replace Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy as the new state party president.
