TPCC chief Revanth Reddy meets Srinivasa Reddy, Krishna Rao with formal invitation to join Congress

Formal invite

After meeting the two leaders, Revanth Reddy said, “We have formally extended an invitation to the two leaders to join the Congress and strengthen its hands in throwing the BRS government out in the next election. We want to rid the state of the pest that KCR is.”

Sending out a message that the leaders were working with a single-minded objective of infusing new life into the party, Revanth visited them along with his bête noire — Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy.

According to sources, both Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao will join the Congress formally in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi at a public meeting in Khammam in the first week of July. In all probability, the date will be 2 July.

Revanth Reddy said, “The public meeting that will be organised in Khammam will be a mammoth one. It would signal the beginning of a movement to oust KCR. It is a struggle between the people of the state and the family members of KCR. Ultimately, it is the people who will win the battle.”

Venkat Reddy added, “People will attend in lakhs on their own to dislodge the KCR government. We are not going to pay them or provide them with any transportation facilities.”

Also read: Ex-BRS leaders Srinivasa Reddy, Krishna Rao to join Congress

Other leaders in the wings

According to Congrress sources, both the leaders reportedly discussed the public meeting to be held in Khammam with Revanth and the other leaders who accompanied him.

The sources said that several other leaders from the BRS would join the party in the days to come. They include BRS MLCs K Damodar Reddy and P Mahender Reddy.

The Congress leaders who were with Revanth and Venkat Reddy at the time of talks with the two ousted BRS leaders included party working president Mahesh Kumar Goud, AICC secretary G Chinna Reddy, senior vice-president Mallu Ravi and leaders Vem Narender Reddy and Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy.

After their suspension from the BRS on 10 April for “anti-party activities”, Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao remained indecisive as to whether to join the Congress or the BJP.

They took their own time and waited for the outcome of the Karnataka Assembly elections to know which way the wind was blowing.

Also read: Ousted BRS leaders undecided as BJP, Congress woo them

BJP’s attempt to rope in the leaders

Meanwhile, the BJP also tried its best to spirit them away but they decided to adopt a wait-and-watch attitude.

Senior BJP leader and chairman of the joining committee Eatala Rajender, along with other leaders, held talks with the two ousted BRS leaders at Ponguleti’s residence in Khammam and invited them to join the saffron party.

Later, Rajender — in a media interaction after the Congress won a decisive victory in Karnataka — said that the two leaders were not willing to join the saffron party.

He said that when he tried to persuade them into joining the BJP, they, in fact, gave him “reverse counselling” to join them as they were trying to build an alternative to fight KCR in the elections.

It is an understatement to say that the BJP had tried to land the two leaders. In fact, it had done all that was in its power to make the two leaders prefer the saffron party.

At one stage, even after the Karnataka election results, they had toyed with the idea of joining the saffron party but finally, they decided to sail with the Congress.

Also read: Srinivasa Reddy weighs options, BJP seems less likely choice

With blessings from beyond

After Srinivasa Reddy and Krishna Rao decided to join the Congress, an upbeat Revanth Reddy said, “Don’t take this joining lightly. We are going to bury KCR into pathalam (netherworld) and the first step would begin at Khammam.”

He also tried to rake up Telangana sentiment, recalling that Wednesday was the death anniversary of Telangana ideologue K Jayashankar who built the movement.

He said that the party took his blessings and suggestions in its fight to liberate Telangana from the clutches of KCR.

Revanth described their efforts as the third Telangana movement, the first one being in 1969 and the second one that preceded the formation of a separate state in 2014.