Suspension of two BRS leaders revives talk of alternative political front
Hyderabad: The suspension of two senior Bharata Rashtra Samithi leaders – former minister Jupally Krishna Rao and former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy – and their dilemma over joining the two Opposition parties, the Congress and the BJP, has revived the talk of an alternative political front.
The absence of a political party reflecting the regional aspirations for the first time after four decades, precisely after emergence of Telugu Desam, also rekindled the hopes of these forces that have been propagating the need for an alternative platform.
Though the BRS, as per the Election Commission of India, is a regional party in Telangana, the recent transformation from the TRS, its expansionist policy and fighting against the Centre on national issues has left a situation in the state where people have to choose among the parties with a national agenda, explained a former BJP MLA.
Sources told Deccan Chronicle that Srinivas Reddy was confident of sweeping all the 10 seats in the erstwhile Khammam district and pull off victory in another 10 seats in Nalgonda and Warangal districts if he joined the Congress. He was also under tremendous pressure to join the Congress from his followers who were of the view that it was but a natural choice.
“However, with the bitter experience of three of his confidants joining the TRS after getting elected as MLAs in 2014, Srinivas Reddy believes that history might repeat itself,” sources close to the former MP said, adding that joining the Congress would be last item of the agenda.
Sources in BJP told this correspondent that senior party leaders had been in constant touch with an open invitation to both the suspended leaders.
“They are hesitant to join stating that party is now currently not in a position to win the required seats to form the government,” said a BJP leader involved in getting leaders from other parties into the saffron outfit. “They want the party to translate its war against corruption into action and win the confidence of people and leaders from other parties,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP leader from Mahbubnagar Yannam Srinivas Reddy made a open appeal to the Central party leadership to consider handing over the baton from Bandi Sanjay Kumar to a leader who emerged from the struggle for a separate Telangana. “The very identity of Telangana is lost once KCR metamorphosed the TRS to the BRS,” he said adding that the Telangana people would embrace leaders who emerged from the struggle.
