hyderabad
Hopping of parties by leaders, particularly those who are denied ticket to contest the ensuing Telangana Assembly elections by the parties they have been associated with so far, is gaining pace as the parties are speeding up the process of selection of candidates and gearing up for launching campaign.
On Wednesday, Ragidi Laxma Reddy of the Congress from Uppal constituency joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) at the Medchal public meeting addressed by party chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao. He was one of the strong contenders for the Uppal Congress ticket but was denied the opportunity by the leadership of that party in favour of M. Parameshwar Reddy.
Mr. Laxma Reddy along with his supporters in the constituency were welcomed into BRS by Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao. Earlier in the day, he announced quitting the Congress citing lack of respect in the party and met the BRS chief in Pragathi Bhavan.
At Telangana Bhavan, District Congress Committee (DCC) president of Gadwal Patel Prabhakar Reddy along with his supporters joined BRS in the presence of Minister T. Harish Rao. Mr. Prabhakar Reddy quit the Congress following denial of ticket by the party in favour of Saritha Tirupathaiah.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Prabhakar Reddy said he quit Congress unable to stand the culture of selling party tickets by its present leadership. He vowed to work for the success of BRS candidates in Gadwal district.
