BRS turncoat MLAs named Congress municipal poll coordinators

The Congress has appointed three BRS turncoat MLAs as coordinators for municipal elections despite the Speaker claiming no evidence of defection. The move has triggered dissent within the party, with former Minister T. Jeevan Reddy openly campaigning against Congress-backed candidates.

Hyderabad: In sharp contrast to the Speaker’s claim that there was no evidence of defection by MLAs and the legislators’ claim that they were still with the BRS, the Congress has appointed three turncoat MLAs as the party’s coordinators for the municipal elections.

TPCC working president Mahesh Kumar Goud issued orders to this effect on Thursday. BRS turncoat MLA from Serilingampally Arekapudi Gandhi has been appointed coordinator for Nizamabad Municipal Corporation. Similarly, Rajendranagar MLA T Prakash Goud has been appointed for Shadnagar and Bhadrachalam MLA Tellam Venkat Rao for Yellandu municipalities.

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This follows Speaker G Prasad Kumar giving a clean chit to eight BRS turncoat MLAs, including the above three legislators, in the disqualification petitions filed on defection charges. He stated that there was no evidence to prove the defection charges against these MLAs.

Of the 10 defected MLAs, the Speaker gave a clean chit to eight legislators, while the hearing of Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari and Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender is under progress.

As the campaign for the municipal elections gained pace across the State, the appointment of three BRS turncoat MLAs as coordinators triggered debates in political circles. Local Congress leaders are not convinced with the Telangana Congress leadership’s decision, particularly over the prominence being given to turncoat leaders, and fear that such moves could prove counterproductive.

Former Minister T Jeevan Reddy has been openly raising objections over the prominence being accorded to BRS MLA from Jagtial, Dr Sanjay, who defected to the Congress.

Irked over the party’s decision to field followers of the turncoat BRS MLAs in the municipal elections, the former Minister is now openly campaigning for Congress rebels. Many of them are contesting as independents, and he is canvassing vigorously for their success.

In 2021, when he was TPCC president, Revanth Reddy had appealed to Congress workers to stone to death all 12 party MLAs who had defected to the TRS, he reminded people while campaigning in the Jagtial municipal elections.

“Now, let us hit back using vote as our weapon. Revanth Reddy asked to stone to death but I am telling you to hit with votes,” Jeevan Reddy told the people.

Taking serious objection to the former Minister’s stand, the Telangana Congress is reportedly initiating steps to take disciplinary action against him. The party is learnt to have taken a serious view of his alleged anti-party activities.