Another blow to Telangana's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) came when its MLA, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, joined the ruling Congress. Following A. Revanth Reddy's appointment as Chief Minister of the State (he is also the Chief of State Congress Committee) in December 2023, Mahipal Reddy is the tenth BRS MLA to defect.
Changing of loyalty a month after ED raids
It is an intriguing development, Mahipal Reddy, who came under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged mining scam, joined Congress within one month. He is the representative for the Patancheru seat in Sangareddy district. In the recent elections, Mahipal Reddy was elected from the constituency on a BRS ticket for a third consecutive term. He is the third MLA to defect to Congress in four days.
Mahipal Reddy joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister. Former Congress leader Gali Anil Kumar who had switched to the BRS before last year's Assembly polls and contested both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully, also returned to the party.
Arekapudi Gandhi, the MLA from Serilingampally constituency in Greater Hyderabad, had joined the Congress on July 13 while a day earlier, T. Prakash Goud, the MLA from Rajendranagar constituency, also in Greater Hyderabad, had switched loyalties.
BRS Strength in Assembly Come-down to 28
The BRS total in the 119-member Assembly is now down to 28 following the most recent defection. Despite winning 39 seats in the election, the BRS was defeated by Congress in the May 2024 by-election for the Secunderabad Cantonment seat. There are now 75 members of the Congress in the Assembly. Over the previous seven months, the BRS also lost a number of top leaders and six MLCs and one Rajya Sabha member to Congress.
Congress Eyes on Greater Hyderabad Region
The latest defections by BRS MLAs have come as a shot in the arm for the ruling Congress party as it looks to consolidate in Greater Hyderabad, a region where it drew a blank in Assembly elections held November 2023. It is encouraging defections from BRS in its ‘Operation Akarsh’ drive.
After the victory in the by-election to the Secunderbad Cantonment assembly seat, the Congress party has succeeded in making three BRA MLAs in Greater Hyderabad defect during the last two weeks.
Congress, which had already lured Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender and Greater Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, appears to be making calculated moves to cement its position in the state capital ahead of next year's elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation