Telangana BJP leader and chairman of party’s Election Management Committee Etela Rajender on Wednesday met suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh at the latter’s office in Goshamahal.

Although the meeting was described as a courtesy call, there is speculation in BJP circles that the Central leadership was keen to get the Hindutva leader to contest from the Zaheerabad seat for the Lok Sabha elections and leave his Goshamahal Assembly seat to Vikram Goud, the son of Mukesh Goud who was a candidate from Congress contesting against Singh in previous elections.

Zaheerabad borders north Karnataka and the BJP hopes to wrest the seat from the BRS with a strong Hindutva face like Raja Singh.

Goshamahal in the old city area is the only constituency which is not held by AIMIM which has complete sway over the rest of the area. The BRS, which came second in the last election pushing the Congress to third position, is aiming at winning the seat this time following Singh’s suspension from the BJP after posting a derogatory video on the prophet.

Rajender, who has recently been appointed chairman of the party’s poll panel for the Assembly elections, assured Raja Singh that he would request the Central leadership of the party to lift his suspension. Singh complained to him that his supporters are being harassed with cases filed against them in the Goshamahal area.

The suspended MLA later tweeted: “We had a productive discussion during his (Rajender’s) visit to my office in Goshamahal.”

Incidentally, Rajender’s visit came just a few days after Raja Singh met BRS leader T Harish Rao at the latter’s residence. He later said that he met Harish Rao to discuss issues related to development of a hospital in his constituency Goshamahal.

The meeting prompted speculation that Singh was keen to join the BRS. However, he later posted a video clip in his social media accounts denying the intention.

“In every drop of my blood, there is only saffron and BJP. I cannot leave BJP till my last breath… If I remain suspended, then for the next few years I will work only for Hindu Rashtra, keeping aside the party and political work, but I will not leave BJP,” said the suspended legislator.