HYDERABAD: Ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, the exodus of leaders from BRS continued as another MLA joined the ruling Congress party on Sunday. Tellam Venkat Rao, BRS MLA from Bhadrachalam, joined the Congress in the presence of chief minister A Revanth Reddy and revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.
He is the third MLA from the main opposition party to join Congress in less than a month.Bhadrachalam was previously the only seat held by BRS among the 10 assembly seats in Khammam district, with eight won by Congress and one by its ally CPI.
Interestingly, Venkat Rao had quit BRS and joined Congress along with Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy in July last year in the presence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at a huge public meeting in Khammam. However, he quit Congress and returned to the BRS after the grand old party denied him the assembly election ticket from Bhadrachalam
Interestingly, Venkat Rao had quit BRS and joined Congress along with Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy in July last year in the presence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at a huge public meeting in Khammam. However, he returned to BRS after being denied an assembly election ticket from Bhadrachalam by the Congress, which favoured its sitting MLA Podem Veeraiah.
Venkat Rao had defeated Veeraiah in the 2023 assembly polls on a BRS ticket. He was perceived to be part of Ponguleti’s political faction in Khammam. Speculation arose about his loyalty when he met Revanth after Congress’s victory in the assembly polls, but Venkat Rao denied any intention to switch sides at the time. His move to join Congress marks another setback for BRS since its defeat to Congress in the 2023 assembly polls.
He is the third MLA from the main opposition party to join Congress in less than a month.Bhadrachalam was previously the only seat held by BRS among the 10 assembly seats in Khammam district, with eight won by Congress and one by its ally CPI.
Interestingly, Venkat Rao had quit BRS and joined Congress along with Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy in July last year in the presence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at a huge public meeting in Khammam. However, he quit Congress and returned to the BRS after the grand old party denied him the assembly election ticket from Bhadrachalam
Interestingly, Venkat Rao had quit BRS and joined Congress along with Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy in July last year in the presence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at a huge public meeting in Khammam. However, he returned to BRS after being denied an assembly election ticket from Bhadrachalam by the Congress, which favoured its sitting MLA Podem Veeraiah.
Venkat Rao had defeated Veeraiah in the 2023 assembly polls on a BRS ticket. He was perceived to be part of Ponguleti’s political faction in Khammam. Speculation arose about his loyalty when he met Revanth after Congress’s victory in the assembly polls, but Venkat Rao denied any intention to switch sides at the time. His move to join Congress marks another setback for BRS since its defeat to Congress in the 2023 assembly polls.