In another setback to the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi is likely to switch over to the Congress.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Telangana, Deepa Das Munshi, Advisor to Government, Vem Narender Reddy and DCC Khairatabad president, Rohin Reddy met the Mayor at her residence and invited her to the Congress party.
The one-hour long meeting also saw the presence of BRS Parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha K. Keshava Rao. Ms. Vijayalakshmi is the daughter of Mr. Keshava Rao.
Sources said the the Mayor was invited into the Congress and though she gave enough hints of considering their request positively, she had sought some more time. She had met Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in the first week of February this year and claimed it was a courtesy call and she was with the BRS.
However, the political situation in Hyderabad seems to be changing at a pretty rapid pace. The BRS party has already seen some defections and many more are likely to desert it as the election season picks up.
Among the list of BRS leaders who joined Congress include the Deputy Mayor of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Mothe Srilatha Reddy. She joined the party along with her husband and senior BRS leader Shobhan Reddy.
Also, the former mayor of GHMC, Bonthu Rammohan and former deputy Mayor Baba Fasiuddin, who were with BRS, joined Congress in February.