Former Minister Eatala Rajendra and his supporters will be flying to New Delhi on a special flight early on Monday morning to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The special flight has been booked by himself to accommodate about 180 leaders and followers, including former MLAs E. Ravindra Reddy and Ramesh Rathod, and former ZP chairman T. Uma, party sources said on Sunday.
The flight will take off from Shamshabad airport around 7.30 a.m. and land in Delhi at 9.30 a.m. Mr. Rajender will then move to the BJP national headquarters to take up party membership formally along with his followers.
BJP national president J.P. Nadda is expected to be present to welcome the former TRS entourage from here. Although there is no word, as of now, on Home Minister Amit Shah giving any appointment, the former minister is said to be keen on meeting him to send a strong signal.
Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy, who has played a key role in luring him into the party along with party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, will be hosting both lunch and dinner at his official residence. The touring party is said to have booked a private hotel and the BJP on its part has reserved a few guest houses for accommodating them, party sources said.
Interestingly, the BJP national leadership has conveyed that not more than 20 persons will be allowed into the party office considering the COVID regulations and just two persons present on the stage to be received by the president.
However, Mr. Rajender and BJP leaders wanted to display a show of strength and approached the airport as well as security authorities concerned to allow the special plane to land in Begumpet airport the day after so that a procession can be taken out to the party office in Nampally, sources said.
