In yet another shock to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former MP Vivek Venkataswamy might go back to his parent party Congress and a decision is likely to be taken on Monday.
Sources said Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy requested him to join the Congress and Mr. Vivek has not yet committed himself to the offer but is likely to tilt towards the Congress. The former Peddapalli MP, who played a key role in the Telangana movement as a Parliament member at the time, is apparently unhappy with the way the BJP is functioning in Telangana. Sources said Mr. Reddy met him personally recently but none of the followers of Mr. Reddy or Mr. Vivek are willing to confirm it.
“He wants the party to win at least 10 to 15 seats so that some political balance can be attained and the BJP can stop the destruction of all the democratic systems in Telangana,” argued a close associate of Mr. Vivek. “This is not the Telangana we all wished for. Moreover, he is happy with the way he is treated by the BJP leaders in New Delhi but unhappy with the party’s functioning in Telangana.”
The sources ruled out the rumours that Mr. Vivek had asked for ticket for his son from Chennur constituency. “That is not at all an issue and linking his son’s political future to his entry is rubbish,” the source said. Mr. Vivek’s elder brother and former Minister G. Vinod has secured Congress ticket from Bellampalli.
Mr. Vivek was elected to Parliament in 2009 from the Peddapalli constituency and to put pressure on the Congress, he joined the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (now BRS). After the Telangana bill was passed, he returned to Congress only to join the TRS later. In the 2019 Parliament election, he expected the Peddapalli ticket from the BRS but did not get the nomination, with the Chief Minister and BRS chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao replacing him with a newcomer.
Mr. Vivek joined the BJP after the Parliament elections. His family owns a popular Telugu news channel V6.
