Big jolt to BRS: Pocharam joins Cong

Hyderabad: BRS senior leader and former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday.

Speculations are rife that he would be inducted into the Cabinet soon. The senior BRS leader holds sway in the old Nizamabad district and the Congress was eyeing to consolidate its strength in the district. After the BJP retained Nizamabad MP seat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Minister was paying special focus to strengthen the party. The Congress has been trying to poach some senior BRS leaders and Srinivas Reddy was among the top in the list.

Srinivas Reddy’s services helped the BRS emerge as the strong force during the Telangana movement in the early 2000. The former Speaker has a stronghold in the old Nizamabad district with a good number of followers and supporters. The Congress convinced the BRS leader and invited him to join the party.

Srinivas Reddy held various portfolios as minister in the TDP government in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh and also served as Agriculture minister in the KCR government in the first term and as th Speaker in the second tenure of the BRS government. Currently, six berths were vacant in Revanth Reddy’s Cabinet and no minister was representing Nizamabad district. Srinivas Reddy is now the front-runner. According to TPCC leaders, the seniormost Congress leader Sudharshan Reddy has been trying for ministerial berth but the CM was not in favour of him. Sources said the Congress leadership has also assured Srinivas Reddy that his son and Nizamabad DCCB Chairman P Bhaskar Reddy will be given a political opportunity to contest the next Assembly elections.