Ahead of Telangana Assembly elections, former state minister Jupally Krishna Rao along with several other Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders of Mahabubagar district of Telangana joined Congress in the presence of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday.
Krishna Rao, who was suspended from BRS a few months ago for anti-party activities, was welcomed into the party by Kharge at his residence along with several leaders from the erstwhile Mahabubagar and Nizamabad districts. Former MLA Gurunath Reddy, BRS MLC Damodar Reddy’s son Rajesh Reddy and others joined the grand old party along with Krishna Rao.
AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, AICC in-charge for Telangana Manikrao Thakare, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy, Sampath Kumar, Mallu Ravi and other leaders were also present.
Krishna Rao was a Minister in the YS Rajashekhar Reddy government and also in the K Chandrashekhar Rao government after the formation of Telangana.
'People now want a Congress government in Telangana'
The former minister had decided to quit the Bharat Rashtra Samithi a few months ago, and since then speculations were rife about his next move. In a tweet, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We welcome several prominent leaders from Telangana in the Congress party. The political tide in Telangana is turning for the good and the people of the state want a Congress Govt at the helm for overall progress and prosperity."
"The entry of Former Minister, Shri Jupally Krishna Rao, Former MLA, Shri Gurunatha Reddy, Shri K R Nagaraju and other grassroots leaders into the Congress party, shall further strengthen our endeavour to provide true social welfare in the state," said Kharge.
Earlier, former MP Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy had joined the Congress on July 2 at a public meeting in Khammam in the presence of senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Krishna Rao and Reddy were among 35 leaders of BRS who had decided to join Congress in June after meeting Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
'BRS failed to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Telangana'
After joining the Congres, Krishna Rao that he decided to return to Congress as the BRS failed to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Telangana. He alleged that during the last nine years, Chief Minister KCR ruled Telangana in an autocratic manner. “KCR is the most corrupt chief minister in the country,” he said adding that the BRS leader destroyed democratic institutions. Krishna Rao alleged that KCR was promoting his own family and spending hundreds of crores in elections.
The former BRS leaders had earlier planned to join the Congress at a public meeting to be held at Kollapur in the combined Mahbubnagar district in the presence of Priyanka Gandhi. However, the programme was cancelled twice due to inclement weather.
Krishna Rao is considered to be a leader with considerable political influence in the undivided Mahabubnagar district, the Congress leaders hope that his joining will bolster the party’s prospects in the elections, due to be held in November-December.
It’s a homecoming for Krishna Rao, who was a minister in Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh.
Krishna Rao had resigned from Congress to join BRS in 2011. He was elected from the Kollapur constituency in the Mahabubnagar district in 2014 on a BRS ticket. He felt sidelined in the BRS after MLA Harshvardhan Reddy, who had defeated him in the 2018 elections, switched his loyalties from Congress to BRS after the Assembly polls.
(With IANS inputs)
