Telangana poll fallout: Despite KCR’s best efforts, BRS leaders keep leaving the party

Former minister A Indrakaran Redy from Nirmal, former MLAs G Vittal Reddy from Mudhole, Koneru Konappa from Sirpur, all from the erstwhile Adilabad district, Pailla Shekhar Reddy, and Chirumarthi Lingaiah from Nakrekal from the erstwhile Nalgonda district, too, have left the BRS.

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Indrakaran Reddy to join Congress?

According to the political grapevine, Indrakaran Reddy, who lost to BJP’s Alleti Maheshwara Reddy from Nirmal in the recent Assembly elections, is seeking a return to the Congress, which he had left in 2014.

Indrakaran Reddy is understandably feeling isolated in the BRS after his defeat.

He had successfully contested the 2014 elections on a BSP ticket and later joined the TRS (now BRS). He was a Congress MLA from Nirmal in 1999, and 2004 and was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2008 by-election.

Indrakaran Reddy’s protege and former Mudhole MLA Vittal Reddy, after losing the Assembly election, seems to have received the go-ahead from his leader to switch loyalties.

Sirpur former MLA Koneru Konappa and his brother Krishna, who is the Asifabad Zilla Parishad chairperson, are also contemplating changing the horses in midstream. Konappa has been miffed over the BRS leadership striking an alliance with BSP leader RS Praveen Kumar.

He believes that Kumar ate into his Dalit vote share, leading to his defeat to BJP’s Palvai Harish Babu in Sirpur.

Paila Shekhar Reddy is understood to be contemplating quitting the BRS and joining the Congress and contesting the Lok Sabha from Bhongir.

He reportedly has intensified his efforts through Roads and Buildings Minister K Venkat Reddy. The minister from Nalgonda wants to throw a spanner in the works of TPCC vice-president Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, a protegee of A Revanth Reddy. Kiran Kumar, too, is eyeing the Bhongir seat.

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KCR tries to keep leaders motivated

On Sunday, the four BRS leaders joined the saffron party even as the party was in the midst of a Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency-level meeting after its sitting MP BB Patil, a Lingayat, joined the BJP.

The party has more or less finalised the candidature of Gali Anil Kumar, a Munnuri Kapu community member, to take on Patil and the Congress’s Suresh Shetkar, also a Lingayat.

At the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency-level meeting, Chandrasekhar Rao reportedly told the leaders not to be flustered by the desertions as better days are ahead for the party. The party chief told them not to worry too much about those leaving the party, obliquely referring to Patil.

“I have seen ups and downs in public life. The only way to survive in politics is to remain committed to the interests of the people. Whether in power or out of it, we have to be in the midst of the people,” he was quoted as saying, obviously to keep the party leaders motivated.

Edited by Majnu Babu.