The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has plunged into a crisis with several legislators defecting into the Congress following the party’s debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Over the past week, as many as three senior BRS legislators deserted the party and defected into the Congress, the latest one being Kale Yadaiah from the Chevella assembly constituency on Friday. Yadaiah met Telangana chief minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy in New Delhi. He joined the party in the presence of Reddy, AICC in-charge of Telangana Deepa Das Munshi and others.
On June 21, former state assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy from Banswada resigned from the BRS to join the Congress, followed by Dr M Sanjay Kumar from Jagitial two days later.
The BRS, which lost power to the Congress in the previous assembly elections held in November 2023, drew a blank in the recent Lok Sabha elections held in Telangana on May 13. While the party won 39 seats in the 119-member state assembly, it could not win even one out of the the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana.
After the party’s defeat in the assembly elections, three BRS MLAs – Danam Nagender from Khairatabad, Kadiyam Srihari from Station Ghanpur and Tellam Venkat Rao from Bhadrachalam joined the Congress. With the latest defections, six BRS MLAs in total have switched their loyalties to the Congress.
According to a senior Congress leader who refused to be quoted, at least another eight MLAs are likely to defect from the BRS to the Congress before the commencement of the budget session in the second week of July.
One of them, Gudem Mahipal Reddy representing Patancheru assembly constituency had been in New Delhi for the last three days lobbying with the Congress high command to gain entry into the party. “He is yet to get the green signal,” the Congress leader quoted above said.
Following the defection of the six MLAs, the strength of the ruling Congress in the Telangana assembly went up to 71. The party, which had won 64 MLAs in the assembly elections, wrested another seat from the BRS by winning the by-elections in the Secunderabad Cantonment constituency, which was held on May 13.
As a result, the BRS is now left with 32 MLAs after the defection of six MLAs and the loss of the Secunderabad Cantonment seat to the Congress.
“The Congress is aiming to lure as many MLAs as possible to consolidate its position, so that there is no threat to the party in the next four and a half years. But if the defected MLAs have to avoid attracting the provisions of the anti-defection law, the Congress should lure at least 26 BRS MLAs,” said political analyst Mohd Zakeer.
Revanth Reddy strongly defended the admission of BRS MLAs into the Congress. “BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao says he will pull down my government within six months. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders say our party will not last long. Why should we keep quiet? We have to take our own precautions to save our government,” the CM told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.
Soon after the defection of two BRS lawmakers into the Congress last week, KCR held a meeting with the remaining MLAs at his farmhouse at Erravelli and persuaded them to stay with the party, assuring them of a bright future.
“There is no need to get disturbed or disheartened with these defections. Let us stop worrying about such leaders. The party has the capacity to groom better leaders in place of these defectors. Only the BRS has the capacity to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Telangana,” KCR said.
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