This is an archive article published on July 6, 2024
BRS continues to leak MLAs, seventh party leader joins Congress in Telangana
Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, the MLA from Gadwal, switches loyalties; development comes days after BRS also lost six MLCs to the Congress
Written by Sreenivas Janyala
Hyderabad | Updated: July 7, 2024 07:09 AM IST
3 min read
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BRS' MLA from Gadwal, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, joined the ruling Congress. (x/@Saibpal Pandit)
In another setback to the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in Telangana, the party’s MLA from Gadwal, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, joined the ruling Congress on Saturday.
He is the seventh BRS MLA to join the Congress after the party came to power in November last year. Krishna Mohan Reddy joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who is also the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president. In the Assembly elections held last year, the BRS had won 39 of 119 seats, while the Congress won 64. It rose to 65 after BRS MLA from Secunderabad Cantonment, G Lasya Nanditha, died in a road accident on February 23, and the Congress won the bypoll.
With the seven BRS MLAs switching loyalties, the Congress’s strength has risen to 72.
In the past few months, BRS MLAs Kale Yadaiah (Chevella); Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), who was Speaker during the BRS regime; Sanjay Kumar (Jagtial); Danam Nagender (Khairatabad); Kadiam Srihari (Station Ghanpur); and Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam) have joined the Congress.
On Thursday night, six BRS MLCs had also joined the Congress, increasing the party’s MLC strength in the 40-member Legislative Council to 12. The MLCs include Dande Vittal, Bhanu Prasad, B Dayanand, Prabhakar Rao, Egge Mallesham and Basavaraju Saraiah.
All of them were with the Congress prior to 2014 when the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, now the BRS, came to power after the creation of a separate state of Telangana, following which they switched loyalties.
Congress leaders, including Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, have claimed that several BRS MLAs are in touch with the party to switch loyalties.
Earlier this week, K Keshava Rao, a senior BRS leader and a close confidant of former CM and BRS chief K Chandrasheker Rao, quit the party and joined the Congress. His daughter G Vijayalakshmi, the Hyderabad mayor, has also made the switch. BRS corporators on Saturday created ruckus in a meeting of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, demanding that she resign as she has switched parties.
The meeting was postponed within 15 minutes after it started as BRS corporators gathered around the Mayor’s podium, demanding her resignation. BRS corporators also heckled and demanded the resignation of Deputy Mayor Mothe Srilatha Reddy, who is expected to join the Congress. The BJP and AIMIM sat out of the ruckus. The BRS has 45 seats, its ally AIMIM has 44, BJP 47 and there are 10 Independents in the 150-seat GHMC.
Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance.
Expertise and Experience
Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states. His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues:
High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K. Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules.
Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes.
Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak.
Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More
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