Prominent politicians from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) met TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy at his residence on Tuesday and announced that they would soon join the Congress.
Former Jadcherla MLA and present BJP president of Mahabubnagar, Erra Shekhar, former Mayor of Nizamabad D. Sanjay and senior leader from Bhupalapalli Gandra Satyanarayana were among those who met him and extended their support.
Mr. Shekhar announced his resignation as BJP district unit president in support of Mr. Revanth Reddy and said he would soon join the party along with his supporters. Mr. Satyanarayana also said he would organise a massive meeting to join the party.
Mr. Sanjay, who is son of dissident TRS Rajya Sabha member D. Srinivas, said the appointment of Mr. Revanth Reddy to the top post in Congress had raised the hopes of people and he would soon join the party in New Delhi in the presence of national leaders. Mr. Sanjay’s younger brother is the firebrand Nizamabad MP D. Arvind.
He said though his family was from Congress he joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) under some unique circumstances but said he had always felt suffocated there. In fact, the scarf of TRS was like an axe, he said claiming that there was no respect for anyone there.
Mr. Sanjay’s father D. Srinivas is presently staying away from party activities due to differences with the leadership. He was a prominent Congress leader heading the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) twice apart from being a minister in Congress governments. His joining in the TRS after the formation of Telangana was a huge shock to the party and also to Congress loyalists given his close association with Ms. Sonia Gandhi.
