Inching closer to the Congress party, suspended Bharat Rashtra Samiti leaders Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, former minister Jupally Krishna Rao and BRS MLC G. Gurunatha Reddy, along with others, met the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary Rahul Gandhi at New Delhi on Monday and expressed their willingness to join the party.
Days after the State Congress leaders met these leaders to formally invite them to join the Congress party, Mr. Srinivas Reddy and Mr. Krishna Rao along with their supporters reached New Delhi on Sunday evening.
At a meeting in the AICC office on Monday evening, these leaders flanked by the AICC in-charge Manikrao Thakre, TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, K. Jana Reddy, Madhu Yashki, Md. Ali Shabbir and Mahesh Kumar Goud and others, were formally welcomed to join the party.
Responding to what he called a warm welcome, Mr. Srinivas Reddy invited Mr. Kharge and Mr. Rahul Gandhi to attend a meeting in Khammam on July 2 where he would formally join the party. Mr. Srinivas Reddy was elected as MP from the YSR Congress Party in 2014 elections and joined the TRS (now BRS) in 2016 along with other YSRCP MLAs. However, he was denied the MP ticket in 2018 elections by the TRS leadership.
To coincide with Monday’s meeting, the AICC released a list of as many as 35 leaders, who would be switching their loyalties. Return of the two leaders along with others was termed as ‘Ghar Wapsi’. Mr. Krishna Rao was a minister in the Congress government between 2009-2014 but quit his post to join the separate Statehood agitation and the TRS. He won the 2014 elections on TRS ticket but lost to the Congress candidate in 2018 elections from Kollapur Assembly seat.
The Congress party Strategy Committee meeting would be held at the AICC office on Tuesday from 12 noon to 2 p.m. in which several issues would be discussed.
‘No Self Respect in BRS’
Speaking to reporters Mr. Srinivas Reddy and Mr. Krishna Rao said that there was no self respect in the BRS which forced them to come out of the party. Both claimed that they had a series of meeting with their followers, who suggested that they should join the Congress party. There was invitation from the Congress and the BJP but we chose to sail with the Congress as the popular support for the BJP had slid after the Karnataka Assembly elections, they said.
Mr. Krishna Rao said that democracy was supressed by the BRS and winning elections at any cost was their sole criteria. He said he would finalise a date either July 14 or 15 for a meeting in Mahabubnagar where he would formally join the Congress.
