Of the 38 BRS MLAs, as many as ten moved to the Congress in the first six months after the party came to power in the elections held in December 2023.
Published Dec 21, 2024 | 4:14 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 21, 2024 | 4:14 PM
KCR to take on Revanth Reddy government on the neglect of irrigation projects (Supplied)
Telangana legislators who switched loyalties from the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the ruling Congress seem to be lost in a maze.
Having joined the Congress, hoping for positions of power or for financial gains by way of furthering their business interests, the lawmakers are literally slapping themselves— neither being able to make good their decision to change colours nor retaining credibility by staying true to the party/symbol on which they were elected.
A case in point is Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, elected from Banswada in Nizamabad district. A former Speaker of the Telangana Assembly and a former minister, he joined the Congress in June this year. Soon after, he was appointed Advisor to the Government on Agriculture. The newfound love ended there.
Reddy was not given a Cabinet rank even in that position, forget being inducted into the ministry as he would have liked to. According to sources, Pocharam made multiple attempts to meet Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy since then, but in vain.
The former minister apparently wanted to understand the finer aspects of his role and if there would be any budgetary allocation. But, Revanth preferred not to grant an audience nor sought any “advice” from the advisor and Pocharam is left wondering if he made the right decision by shifting to the Congress.
If only the former Speaker remembered how his earlier boss—K Chandrasekhara Rao behaved when he was the chief minister, he would not have landed himself in this situation.
KCR had multiple advisors during his tenure as the chief minister but his one-line advise to all of them was “give advice when asked.” That never happened as he rarely sought any advice, and the designated advisors just enjoyed the perks that came with the position and bided their time.
Same is the case with another MLA, Prakash Goud, who represents the Rajendranagar constituency in Greater Hyderabad. Having expected multiple favours including a role in the government, Prakash Goud too is suffering a lack of access to the top man.
The chief minister is reportedly against entertaining the turncoats as he is of the view that it could encourage them to come up with multiple and frequent requests for some favour or the other—clearance of pending bills, transfer of government officers etc.
Of the 38 BRS MLAs, as many as ten moved to the Congress in the first six months after the party came to power in the elections held in December 2023.
They include Mahipal Reddy of Patancheru constituency, Krishna Mohan Reddy (Gadwal), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella) and Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampally).
While the expected gains have not materialized, the MLAs also run the risk of disqualification with the BRS having moved the High Court against them. If byelections indeed become inevitable, it will be back to square one for the legislators.
None of the BRS-turned-Congress legislators are likely to be rewarded with a Cabinet berth if and when the expected expansion happens. There are six slots that need to be filled but the Congress central leadership has still not given the clearance to Revanth Reddy to go ahead.
The chief minister, sources said, is keen only on one name – Sudarshan Reddy from Bodhan in Nizamabad, while he left the choice for the other slots to the high command.
Among the aspirants are Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife, Padmavathi, and another minister, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy’s brother, Rajagopal Reddy. Will Delhi give in to the demand for a second ministerial berth from the same family remains to be seen.
