Dasoju quits Congress, likely to join BJP

HYDERABAD: Congress spokesperson Dr Dasoju Sravan Kumar on Friday resigned from the party primary membership in protest against what he described as the autocratic functioning of state party unit president A. Revanth Reddy.

The resignation came a few hours before Revanth Reddy put up a show of strength in the Munugode Assembly segment which is all set to go for bypoll after incumbent MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy resigns as MLA. Rajgopal Reddy also blamed is resignation on Revanth Reddy.

Though Dr Sravan did not officially announce his joining of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its state unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar termed Dr Sravan as a nationalist and welcomed him to the party. Sanjay, who is on a padayatra, said, “He is a product of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and I urge him to join the BJP as part of the ghar wapsi programme.”

According to sources, Sanjay took Dr Sravan in his car after both attended former MLC Prof. K. Nageshwar Rao’s daughter’s wedding a few days ago and discussed joining the BJP. Dr Sravan, known to be an intellectual in political circles, has been relentlessly waging a war against the TRS and its president, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

Dr Sravan is said to be upset with Revanth Reddy for bringing Congress leader late P. Janardhan Reddy's daughter and TRS corporator Vijayalakshmi into the party with a promise to field her from Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency from where Dr Sravan wanted to try his electoral fortunes.

Dr Sravan said he had spent sleepless nights for the last one year worrying about the party’s future in the state under the present leadership. He alleged that party in-charge for Telangana Manickam Tagore and poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu had ganged up and were suppressing the actual status of the party in their reports to the high command. “Sometimes it leaves an impression that Revanth took the AICC franchise in the state,” Dr Sravan said.

The Congress leader, referring to the TPCC chief’s statement glorifying the Reddy community, said Revanth Reddy’s thought process was in complete contrast with ideologies of the AICC, party president Sonia Gandhi and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on BC, SC and ST empowerment.

Earlier, former MLAs Mahesh Goud and Kodanda Reddy met Dr Sravan and persuaded him not to quit the party. Taking advantage of the development, Komatireddy brothers, Rajgopal and Venkat Reddy, slammed Revanth Reddy for the state of affairs in the Telangana Congress. Addressing separate press conferences in New Delhi, the two brothers, who allege they have been victims of Revanth Reddy’s politics, said Dr Sravan’s exit from the party showed the terrible conditions in the party.