Hyderabad: The Congress in Telangana is speeding-up the defections of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs into its fold before the beginning of the state budget session which is expected to begin on July 24. Rajendra Nagar MLA T Prakash Goud and Serilingampalli MLA Arekapudi Gandhi are the latest defectors, which leaves the K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)-led BRS with only 30 MLAs.
Earlier, seven BRS MLAs had hopped into the Congress. On Friday, Prakash Goud visited the Lord Venkateshwara temple in Tirupathi and offered prayers. Taking to the media there, he revealed that he was going to join Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy by evening. “There is no pressure compelling me to join Congress. Only for the development of his constituency I took the decision,” he said.
Reacting to the latest defections, BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s alleged that BRS MLAs were being pressurised by the Congress government to join its fold. Goud however said that he was not a small child to be influenced in that way.
It may be recalled that four-time MLA Prakash Goud had met Revanth Reddy couple of months ago, but had rubbished the talk about him joining the Congress. He even went to attend the meeting held at BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s farmhouse in Erravelli, where the rest of BRS MLAs assured the party chief that they would be loyal to the pink party.
Meanwhile, Serilingampalli MLA Arekapudi Gandhi will be joining the Congress on Saturday, and reports suggest that more BRS MLAs were ready to hop into Congress in the next few days.
Congress has been trying to reclaim its domination in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas, which it had lost during the BRS regime. In the recent assembly elections, while BRS won 18 seats, Congress was able to win 3 seats, MIM 7 seats and BJP 1 seat.
It has been reported that six BRS MLAs from Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts have already met Congress Rangareddy district in-charge minister D Sridhar Babu, and were considering shifting their loyalties. Indications are that at least 4-5 MLAs were going to join Congress in the days to come, before the commencement of the assembly sessions.
Danam Nagender predicts BRSLP’s merger with Congress in 15 days
Meanwhile, MLA Danam Nagender on Friday caused a stir by predicting that within 15 days the BRS legislative party would be merged into the Congress, and that only four MLAs will be left in BRS after that. Though there is the anti-defection law that prevents legislators from defecting without resigning from their posts, if does not apply if two-thirds of any party’s MLAs defect.
Speaking with media on Friday, Nagender said that BRS MLAs were “being treated like insects”, and that KTR has been running the party office like a corporate company. He alleged that it was very difficult for BRS MLAs to get appointment from KCR, and even if they got one, they were made to wait for hours.
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