Along with the MLA, Serilingampally, Miyapur, Chandanagar, and Hyder Nagar corporators also joined the Congress.
Published Jul 13, 2024 | 1:13 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 13, 2024 | 1:14 PM
Arekapudi Gandhi joins Congress. (Screengrab)
In another setback to the BRS, Serilingampally MLA Arekapudi Gandhi joined the ruling Congress on Saturday, 13 July, making the count of defectors to nine.
The turncoat MLA joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy at his Jubilee Hills residence.
Along with the MLA, Serilingampally Corporator Nagender Yadav, Miyapur Corporator U Srikanth, Chandanagar Corporator Manjula Raghunath Reddy, and Hyder Nagar Corporator N Srinivas also joined the Congress.
This comes on the heels of Rajendranagar MLA T Prakash Goud joining the ruling party on Friday, 12 July.
The Congress has been luring BRS MLAs to increase its strength in the Assembly. The party won 64 seats in the 119-member house in the November 2023 Assembly elections and its number rose to 65 after it won Secunderabad Cantonment by-election, held along with Lok Sabha polls. Now the number of the Congress MLAs has touched 74.
Serilingampally BRS MLA @GandhiArekapudi joined the @INCIndia party in the presence of #Telangana Chief Minister @revanth_anumula at his Jubilee Hills residence.
Ninth @BRSparty MLA joins defection row.Along with the MLA Serilingampally Corporator Nagender Yadav, Miyapur… pic.twitter.com/9fhg6AG4FF
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) July 13, 2024
Ever since the Congress came to power, it has thrown a wide net to catch the BRS MLAs to ensure stability to the government, the way K Chandrashekar Rao did when after he came to power in 2014 with just 63 MLAs, despite riding the popularity wave of forcing the Centre to deliver a separate Telangana state.
It is trying to implement what has come to be known as the ‘merger strategy’. The party is now wolfing down on the BRS legislators as if there is no tomorrow and benching them until their number reaches 26, which is two-thirds of the BRS’ strength in the Assembly.
When the target is reached, the entire lot would merge in the Congress. As two-thirds of BRS MLAs join the Congress, it would be termed as the merger of the BRSLP into the Congress and not defection, in accordance with the provisions of the amended Anti-Defection Act. It would then be history repeating itself – only this time, BRS is on the receiving end.
It all started with innocuous meetings between BRS MLAs and the CM for funds for their respective constituencies, but the underlying message was not lost on the BRS leadership, which had done everything humanly possible to keep its flock together but could not under the relentless onslaught by Revanth Reddy.
The eight MLAs who have already discarded their pink robes and joined the Congress are: T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella), Dr Sanjay Kumar (Jagtial), Kadiam Srihari (Station Ghanpur), Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam) and Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy (Gadwal).
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula.)
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