Big jolt to BRS as many leaders join Congress

Kothagudem/Khammam: With a huge number of elected representatives announcing to join the Congress party, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party suffered a major setback in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Saturday.

Bhadradri ZP Chairman Koram Kanakaiah has announced his resignation to the BRS. Along with Kanakaiah, a huge number of his supporters, including the elected representatives also forwarded their resignation letters to the party. In Yellandu Assembly constituency, one ZPTC, 56 village sarpanches and 26 MPTCs announced their resignation to the ruling party and extended their loyalty to the opposition Congress party.

Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, Bhadradri ZP Chairman Koram Kanakaiah said that he along with former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy would be joining the Congress party at a public meeting to be held in Khammam on Sunday, July 2. He also informed that thousands of people from the Yellandu Assembly constituency would be joining the Congress party at the public meeting.

In the wake of the induction of former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and his supporters into the Congress party, preparations are in full swing for conducting a public meeting scheduled to be held in Khammam on Sunday. Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi will be the chief guest at the public meeting. The meeting has been renamed as Telangana Jana Garjana Sabha.

All arrangements have already been made to make the meeting a grand success. 100 acres of land near SR Garden on Khammam-Vaira road has been selected to hold the public meeting. It was levelled with the help of machines and tractors.

Another 50 acres of land near the site has been identified for parking of vehicles. The Congress party leaders and cadres as well as Ponguleti’s followers, who are expected to join the party soon, are engaged in the preparations.

About 5 lakh people from all over the districts, including the combined Khammam district, are expected to be mobiliSed for the public meeting to prove their might of Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy in the district.

Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, TPCC president Revanth Reddy, CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former Union minister Renuka Chowdhury, several Congress MPs and former MPs from the state, AICC and PCC leaders will also attend the meeting.

Former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and some other district leaders are going to formally join the Congress party in the same meeting. With assembly elections due in the next four months, the leaders are hoping that the meeting will be the venue for the launch of the party’s election campaign and bring new enthusiasm in the state Congress party cadres.