Mayor of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation(GHMC), Gadwal Vijayalaxmi, the daughter of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) general secretary K. Keshava Rao, joined Congress on Saturday in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for the State Deepa Das Munshi and other leaders.
Mr. Keshava Rao, a senior leader in BRS has already informed his decision to come back to Congress where he started his political journey five decades ago. He met with Mr. Revanth Reddy on Friday and later claimed that his homecoming was like a pilgrim returning home after a long journey.
The father-daughter duo’s decision to join the Congress is not surprising. The news about their joining the Congress began when Ms. Munshi met with Ms. Vijayalaxmi in Hyderabad on March 22 at her residence in Hyderabad where Mr. Keshava Rao was also present. Later, Mr. Rao met with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi.
Their induction has triggered an intense response from BRS leaders who have demanded their resignation from the posts they hold. However, Mr. Rao’s son K. Viplav Kumar remains with BRS and has announced that he would work under the party president K. Chandrashekhar Rao. At a press conference held on Friday, Mr. Kumar faulted the decision taken by his father and sister to shift to Congress. He too suggested them to resign from the posts they have now as BRS members before joining Congress.
Mr. Keshava Rao also expressed his desire to resign as a Rajya Sabha member as he was elected on behalf of the BRS party and contest in the by poll if Congress gives him another chance. He held senior positions in the Congress before joining the BRS a few months before the formation of Telangana. He served as a Minister in several Congress governments and was later appointed president of the Andhra Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) in the combined state.
The Congress may not benefit from their induction numbers-wise, but it would be a big jolt to the BRS which is already struggling with desertions ahead of the Parliament elections. Ms. Vijayalakshmi’s entry will boost the Congress party’s numbers in the GHMC council as several BRS Corporators are expected to follow her soon. Former GHMC Deputy Mayor Baba Fasiuddin, a close follower of BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, has already joined the Congress.
The BRS, which has won the majority of MLA seats in the GHMC area, will face a tough task in retaining the MLAs as the Congress claimed that several MLAs were in touch with them to jump the ship. It is expected that once the defections begin, the Corporators too would join the stream. Khairatabad BRS MLA Danam Nagander, a former Congress man has already deserted the party.
