After keeping everyone guessing for more than six months, TRS MP M. Vijayashanti finally joined the Congress in New Delhi on Thursday, in the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi and party State affairs in-charge Digvijay Singh.
Ms. Vijayashanti, the Lok Sabha member from Medak, was instrumental in bringing former TRS leaders M. Vijaya Rama Rao, A. Chandrasekhar, and party district unit former president M. Raghunandana Rao, into the Congress fold.
Though her joining the party was planned long back, it did not materialise due to various reasons. A leader of the ruling Congress, on condition of anonymity, said an agreement could not be reached between the Congress and MP on the demands she put forth, which was one reason for the delay. Even a few days back, the District Congress Committee (DCC) leaders were not sure if she would join.
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Differences cropped up between Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Ms. Vijayashanti, when the latter claimed the Medak Lok Sabha seat and openly stated that “no power on earth” could prevent her from contesting from the seat. The TRS president suspended her from the party, but never expelled her.