Rajya Sabha Member from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K. Keshava Rao, his daughter and GHMC Mayor G. Vijayalaxmi are all set to join the Congress on March 30, depleting the Opposition party further ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The two had already met the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders and were supposed to take the plunge last week itself with Mr. Keshava Rao meeting AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi and Ms. Vijayalaxmi along with Mr. Rao meeting AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana Deepa Dasmunshi here later. Mr. Keshava Rao has his Rajya Sabha term till April 2026.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi Rajya Sabha MP K. Keshava Rao (on the left), who is likely to join Congress, met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi last week. File | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
According to sources, Ms. Vijayalaxmi’s joining the ruling party is likely to be followed by about 10 GHMC Corporators from BRS as part of the Congress plans to take over the GHMC council in the coming months with the help of the AIMIM.
After his return from Delhi, Mr. Keshava Rao who is also the secretary-general of BRS, participated in the party programmes in Telangana Bhavan here on March 23 when several supporters of former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar joined BRS.
Mr. Keshava Rao is understood to have met BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at his Erravelli farmhouse on Thursday, wherein the latter is learnt to have expressed displeasure at the former’s decision to join the Congress. Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao is said to have asked the Rajya Sabha member whether he and his family members were not given due recognition in BRS all these years.
The BRS chief reminded Mr. Keshava Rao that he was given two consecutive terms (2014 and 2020) as the Upper House member in spite of being a new entrant to the party before 2014. Former Minister and former MLA from Nirmal A. Indrakaran Reddy, who is also said to be ready to shift loyalties to the Congress, met Mr. Keshava Rao after he returned from Erravalli.
Meanwhile, son of Mr. Keshava Rao and former Chairman of the Telangana State Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation K. Viplav Kumar said on Thursday, in the backdrop of reports that his father and sister are set to join the Congress, that he would remain with BRS.
