The Congress is likely to face yet another jolt in Telangana with Mungode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, in all likelihood, leaving the Congress in search of greener pastures in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sources close to Mr. Rajgopal Reddy said he had already taken a decision and is likely to join the BJP within four or five days. However, his brother and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy will not leave the Congress. “I will revive the party in Telangana and bring it to power again. There is no question of my leaving,” he told The Hindu .
A strong indication of this came from Mr. Rajgopal Reddy himself when he told reporters in Nalgonda on Saturday that the Congress was losing ground in Telangana and its space was likely to be occupied by the BJP that was strengthening itself at a rapid pace. He doesn’t see Congress returning to power even in 2024 but BJP emerging only alternative in Telangana politics.
Adding credence to his exit plan were the rumours of Mr. Reddy meeting senior BJP leaders secretly to finalise the deal. He has neither denied the rumours nor confirmed, leaving enough scope for speculation.
However, his exit from Congress cannot be linked just to the Komatireddy brothers’ opposition to the TPCC president and their arch-rival in Nalgonda, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, but also to the changing landscape in Telangana politics.
The split engineered among the Congress MLAs apparently by TRS chief and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has actually opened more space for the BJP to spread its tentacles here and is likely to change the contours of the Telangana political map soon. Mr. Reddy, who has business interests, doesn’t feel he would fit into the TRS scheme of things, given his aggressive nature.
So the only option left for him is the BJP, both for furthering his political future and business interests. The Komatireddy brothers have good fan following in Nalgonda district particularly and also elsewhere owing to the strong views they express. The Congress’ inability to tackle defection of 12 MLAs to the TRS has also played on the psyche of Congress leaders and cadre and they are searching for an alternative. The BJP’s ‘no holds barred’ attitude and its zeal to capture Telangana soon is also attracting the cadre, who are fundamentally opposed to the TRS and KCR. With Mr. Rajgopal Reddy certain to leave the Congress, the party will be left with just five MLAs now — Bhatti Vikramarka, D. Sreedhar Babu, T. Jagga Reddy, Seethakka and Podem Veeraiah.
