Home » Telangana » Rumours Doing Rounds That Telangana Bjp Leader G Vivek Venkataswamy Plans To Join Congress

Rumours doing rounds that Telangana BJP leader G Vivek Venkataswamy plans to join Congress

His non-appearance to the party activities for the last few weeks gave much credence to the speculations that he would join Congress soon.

BySouth First Desk

Published Aug 27, 2023 | 10:02 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 27, 2023 | 10:03 PM

G Vivek Venkataswamy. (Instagram)

Speculations are rife that senior Telangana BJP leader and former MP G Vivek Venkataswamy, alias G Vivekanand, will join the Congress soon.

His non-appearance at the saffron party’s activities for the last few weeks gave much credence to the speculations that he would join the Congress shortly.

After failing to obtain a ticket from the BRS — then the TRS — during the 2019 Parliament elections, Vivek joined the BJP and has since then been deemed to have played a crucial role in various party activities.

He was one of the key party members who worked hard during the Dubakka, Huzurabad, and Munugode by-elections in the state.

With the proper planning and strategy, the BJP managed to win the Dubakka and Huzurabad Assembly constituencies, but lost the Munugode seat.

However, the party improved the vote share in Munugode significantly when compared to the 2018 Assembly elections, when it lost its deposit.

Also read: Congress blueprint for ‘new dawn’ in Telangana is ready, says Kharge

Dilemma in joining Congress

It is learnt that Vivek was seriously lobbying to get a ticket from the Congress for his son in Dharmapuri.

The norm that only one ticket would be allotted for people belonging to the same family put him in a dilemma to join the Congress.

Vivek quit the party in 2013 and joined the TRS (now BRS), but returned to the national party before 2014. However, he lost the Assembly seat in the 2014 elections.

He again returned to the TRS after two years and then joined the BJP when he could not secure a ticket during the 2019 Parliament elections.

When reporters asked him on Saturday, 26 August, whether he was quitting the BJP, he did not give a direct reply and left with a smile.

Meanwhile, Union Tourism Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy said that the state’s voters knew that the Congress and the BRS became best friends in a deal brokered by the AIMIM.

In a statement, he said voters were well aware that a vote to the Congress was a seat gifted to the BRS.

To do damage control, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge stated while addressing a public meeting in Chevella on Saturday that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao never appeared on any anti-BJP platform.

“On the contrary, the BRS and the Congress have always been partners working in tandem. The Congress-BRS partnership is an open secret. The Congress and its family in their hatred towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to any extent to defeat BJP including sacrificing their own party and transferring their votes to a corrupt and ineffective Chandrashekhar Rao,” said Kishan Reddy.