Ex Dy CM Rajaiah quits BRS, likely to join Cong

Hyderabad: A day after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy challenged BRS chief KCR to try and pull down his government, the Congress party seems to have opened its doors for those who want to switch loyalties from the pink party.

The big fish in the net for the Congress on Saturday was BRS leader and former deputy chief minister T Rajaiah, who had quit the BRS and is set to join the grand old party this week.

Rajaiah was not happy with the BRS leadership ever since he was replaced by another senior leader Kadiyam Srihari who won the election from the Station Ghanpur Assembly constituency in the recent elections. The former Deputy CM was sidelined in the BRS due to various reasons.

Sources said that the Congress leadership contacted Rajaiah recently and invited him to join the party. The BRS leader has a grip in the SC reserved Warangal Lok Sabha constituency and his role in the ensuing general elections can be significant for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. The possibility of fielding him as the candidate from the constituency is also not ruled out.

The sources said this is only a beginning. The Congress will intensify ‘Operation Poaching’ of the BRS leaders and the focus would be mainly on the MLAs and other representatives who can play important role in the Lok Sabha elections.

It may be recalled that four BRS MLAs from old Medak district had recently met Revanth Reddy. Despite their denials, speculations are rife that some of them would join the Congress by the end of this month.

Also, former GHMC Mayor B Rammohan Rao is said to be in touch with the Congress leadership. Rao had asked the BRS to announce his name as a candidate for either Secunderabad or Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat.

Meanwhile, former minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav has been trying to field his son Sai Kiran from the Secunderabad constituency. Sai Kiran had contested against BJP state president G Kishan Reddy in 2019 and lost the polls.

The party is said to be actively considering his candidature again. Upset over the party leaning more towards the kin of senior leaders, Rammohan, it is said, was contemplating to join the Congress.