Telangana BJP leader Raj Gopal Reddy considering return to Congress

Hyderabad: BJP leader and former MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy is likely to return to the Congress party ahead of next month’s Assembly elections.

He is likely to formally join the Congress party in Delhi in a couple of days in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.

Raja Gopal Reddy claimed that there is pressure from people on him to re-join the Congress.

He, however, said he has not yet taken a final decision.

Reddy had quit Congress to join the BJP in August last year.

The MLA from Mungode also resigned from Assembly, necessitating the by-election. He entered the fray as BJP candidate but lost the bypoll. Raja Gopal Reddy, who is brother of Congress MP from Bhongir Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, was not happy with the BJP leadership and he was one of the leaders who demanded the central leadership to remove Bandi Sanjay as the party’s state president.

A former MP from Bhongir, Raj Gopal Reddy was recently appointed as a member of national executive of the BJP.

He, however, was not actively participating in the party programmes for last few months. He was reportedly keen to contest the ensuing Assembly election from LB Nagar constituency. His name was missing from the first list of candidates announced by the BJP on Sunday.

The industrialist-politician had joined the BJP amid much fanfare at a public meeting in Mungode in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in August.

Both Raja Gopal Reddy and his brother Venkat Reddy were unhappy in the Congress after the appointment of A. Revanth Reddy as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president.

However, after the defeat in Munugode bypoll, Raja Gopal Reddy was not feeling comfortable in the BJP. With the Congress witnessing resurgence in Telangana following victory in Karnataka elections and many leaders from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and BJP switching loyalties to the Congress party in recent months, Raja Gopal Reddy also appears to have made his mind to return to the Congress camp