Defections of BRS MLAs trigger dissidence in Congress
Hyderabad, June 24: The joining of BRS MLA M. Sanjay Kumar into Congress has triggered differences within the ruling party in Telangana with senior leader T. Jeevan Reddy contemplating resignation from the Legislative Council.
The former minister is unhappy with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for admitting Sanjay Kumar, the MLA from Jagtial, into the party without even informing him.
The senior leader was holding consultations with his followers on Monday to decide his future course of action.
In the November 2023 Assembly elections, Jeevan Reddy lost to Sanjay Kumar in Jagtial constituency in Nizamabad district. The Congress leader had lost to the same rival in 2018.
Sanjay Kumar, who had lost to Jeevan Reddy from the same constituency in 2014, joined the Congress party on Sunday night.
The development came as a shock to Jeevan Reddy, who had already found fault with the Chief Minister for admitting senior BRS leader and former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy into the party.
Jeevan Reddy had Saturday dubbed the entry of Srinivas Reddy, a MLA from Banswada, into the Congress party as political opportunism.
"It is an example of political opportunism. Any political party should fight and work according to its principles," Jeevan Reddy had said.
He also questioned the need for encouraging defections from other parties when the Congress government is stable with 65 MLAs.
"There is no need for the Congress party to allow defections into the party," he said.
The Chief Minister had personally visited Srinivas Reddy's house on June 21 to invite him to join the Congress party. The former minister immediately accepted the invitation and joined the party.
On Sunday night, Sanjay Kumar also joined the ruling party.
He is the fifth BRS MLA to switch loyalties since Congress came to power in December last year.
BRS had won 39 seats in the 119-member Assembly. Its strength has now come down to 33 as it also lost the recent Secunderabad Cantonment by-election to the ruling party.