According to sources, he was expected to join the Congress in the presence of either senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.
Published Sep 22, 2023 | 11:39 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 23, 2023 | 3:02 PM
File photo of Mynampally Hanumanth Rao. (mynampallyh/Facebook)
Malkajgiri MLA Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao has resigned from the BRS. The rebel BRS leader said on Friday, 22 September, that he would soon announce which party he intended to join.
According to sources, he was expected to join the Congress in the presence of either senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.
Sources told South First that a few important Congress leaders had coaxed him into joining the grand old party.
Hanumantha Rao decided to switch his loyalty to the Congress because he seemed to have realised that his game was up in the BRS.
Though Telangana Chief Minister and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao renominated him for the Malkajgiri seat in the upcoming Assembly elections, he has been very unhappy as he wanted his son Rohit to be fielded from the neighbouring Medak district.
KCR renominated sitting MLA T Padmaja Devender Reddy from there, which caused Hanumanth Rao to seethe with anger.
In an outburst against Finance Minister T Harish Rao, who hails from the Siddipet district, he said that he was throwing his weight around in the Medak district, implying that he was responsible for the denial of a ticket to his son.
In fact, Hanumantha Rao — who was visiting Tirumala on the day KCR was to announce candidates — seemed to have got a whiff that Medak had gone to Padma Devender Reddy, and abused Harish Rao.
Hanumantha Rao said Harish Rao was acting like a dictator, and that he should not forget his past.
He added that Harish Rao deliberately ensured that no development took place in Medak, so that his constituency Siddipet would shine in contrast. He said the people would teach him a fitting lesson.
The BRS leadership, which took a serious view of the intemperate language which Hanumantha Rao used against Harish Rao, condemned his act of breaking the code of discipline that governed the party.
KCR appeared unhappy when reporters pointed out to him that Hanumantha Rao was saying he would not contest from his own seat if the BRS did not allot tickets to both him and his son.
The chief minister said: “It poses no problem if he is not interested. If he abides by the party’s decision, it is fine. Otherwise, it is his choice.”
His son KTR and daughter Kavitha also condemned the language that Hanumantha Rao used against Harish Rao.
Later, sensing that the BRS had hardened its stand against him, Hanumantha Rao said he would make a decision on what he intended to do after interacting with people in the Malkajgiri and Medak constituencies, which he said would take about a week.
The BRS, ever since, had been abuzz with rumours that the chief minister had decided to nominate Labour Minister Ch Malla Reddy’s son-in-law Marri Rajasekhar Reddy for the Malkajgiri seat in place of Hanumanth Rao.
