Cong to add one more civic body to its kitty

Hyderabad: The BRS, which has been facing the problem of the exodus of the MLAs from the party, is now losing the municipalities in the city outskirts one after another with the exit of corporators. As many as 15 corporators from the Peerzadiguda municipal corporation under the Medchal constituency have deserted the party.

In the 2020 elections, the Congress party did not secure victory in any of the nine Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) within the Medchal Malkajgiri district. However, following recent political changes in the state, the Congress has been dealing significant blows to the BRS party by progressively gaining control of these ULBs. The latest development is the impending loss of the Peerzadiguda Municipal Corporation, where 15 BRS corporators are set to defect to the Congress party.

The corporators, led by Deputy Mayor Shiv Kumar, are camping in Goa and soon are going to join the Congress party.

The Medchal MLA, Ch Malla Reddy, who has a strong grip over the constituency, failed to stop the exodus of the corporators. During Tuesday's council meeting, BRS leaders caused a commotion by claiming that their corporators had been kidnapped and coerced into joining the party under the threat of severe consequences.

This incident adds to a series where the Congress party has snatched corporations from the BRS. Earlier, the corporators from Jawaharnagar and Boduppal Municipal Corporations left the party and joined Congress. Before the Lok Sabha elections, the corporators moved a no confidence motion against their own party and later joined the Congress party. Similarly, in the Nizampet municipal corporations, nine corporators have joined the Congress along with Mayor Neela Reddy. Similarly, ULBs near Hyderabad, including the Ibrahimpatnam Municipality, Bandlaguda Jagir, and Adibatla, were taken over by the Congress party.

However, doubts have been raised about the exit of the corporators in Peerzadiguda. Some BRS leaders have voiced suspicions that a senior leader may have been involved in influencing corporators to defect. Speculations suggest that Medchal MLA Malla Reddy might be contemplating leaving the party, prompting concerns among leaders that he could be behind the corporators' move to join the Congress party.