BRS likely to lose MPs, Lok Sabha aspirants to national parties

Hyderabad: Pedappalli MP B. Venkatesh Netha’s exit from the BRS on Tuesday is set to have a ripple effect in the pink party ranks, with multiple incumbents and aspirants contemplating to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on a Congress or BJP ticket.

Sources said that BRS’ Chevella Lok Sabha MP G. Ranjith Reddy was in touch with the Congress, while its Khammam MP Nama Nageswara Rao is reportedly in touch with the BJP. The duo is likely to jump ship soon, before the Election Commission issues the Lok Sabha election schedule by the month-end.

Even a few BRS Rajya Sabha members are reportedly planning to quit the party, sources said.

While the BRS MPs are seeking to jump ship, the Congress and BJP are evaluating the situation before committing to new inductions.

For instance, Ranjith Reddy initially sought a BJP ticket from Chevella, but the BJP has a strong candidate in Konda Vishweshwar Reddy. This led to a tussle between the duo, with the latter filing a police complaint against the BRS MP.

As a result, Ranjith Reddy is now pinning his hopes on a Congress ticket, as the party needs a strong candidate in the constituency.

Sources said that BRS MPs were insecure about their political future given the party’s poor performance in the Assembly polls. They feel that a similar voting pattern could cost them their seats and benefit the Congress.

On the other hand, the BJP is riding high on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image and the idol consecration at the Ayodhya Ram Temple issue for the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP, which won just one Assembly seat in the December 2018 state polls, bounced back in the April 2019 Lok Sabha polls, winning four seats.

The Congress won three Lok Sabha seats in April 2019 after faring poorly in the 2018 Assembly polls, wherein it won just 19 seats.

The BRS, despite securing 88 of 119 seats in the 2018 Assembly polls, only managed to secure nine Lok Sabha seats in 2019, down from the 11 it secured in 2014.

Citing the same, BRS incumbents said that the party could not secure double-digit seats while it was in power and the number may dip sharply this time, after it was voted out of power in the state polls.