TRS worried over BJP moves to poach disgruntled leaders

Hyderabad: For a party that grew strong very quickly by poaching leaders from all the others parties, the circle is complete.

A worried top leadership of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is keenly watching developments within the party after the Cabinet expansion, because the BJP is keenly making moves to poach those senior leaders who have been denied a berth, or have raised a mini-banner of revolt.

The TRS senior leadership is worried, not only because of increasing number of leaders openly speaking in defiance of the Chief Minister, but also because of inputs from the Intelligence department that the BJP leaders are tapping the dissatisfied leaders and MLAs party after Cabinet expansion.

After a buoyant performance in the Lok Sabha, BJP leaders – both national and state unit – have publicly said that several MLAs, MPs and other senior leaders of the TRS party are in touch and that they would join the saffron party at an appropriate time.

Nervous about these developments, the TRS party top leadership is meticulously orchestrating a counter-campaign. The TRS is trying to shift public perception back in its favour, by forcing disgruntled MLAs and leaders, whose names have appeared in media, to speak favourably about the leadership of the party chief.

In last two days, all disgruntled senior leaders, who have spoken in public, or to the media, about being dissatisfied about not getting a berth in the council of ministers, and those who have raises their voice against the high command, are being made to express confidence in the leadership of party boss K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

However, sources in the BJP disclosed that several TRS leader had came into contact with them and are negotiating their prospects if they defected.