HYDERABAD: Suspended BRS leaders Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao have kept everyone guessing, even as leaders from both the Congress and the BJP have made efforts to entice them into their respective parties.
The BJP is in touch with former MP Srinivas Reddy, said BJP legislator Etala Rajendar who is the party's joining committee head. “My responsibility is to engage with anyone who is interested in joining the BJP or currently maintaining a neutral stand on their political affiliation. Everyone makes their own assessment of the party they want to join and weighs their options,” Rajendar remarked at a press conference.
He said Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit on Sunday was part of the BJP’s Parliamentary Pravas Yojana with the party’s MPs and ministers visiting Lok Sabha constituencies, meeting party leaders, assessing the situation and making suggestions on how to make the party stronger and take it forward.
Meanwhile, the Congress leadership, which is seriously considering getting Srinivas Reddy and Krishna Rao on board, has maintained contact with the leaders, and the party's strategist Sunil Kanugolu's team is smoothing the process to expedite it.
Both leaders are holding a series of meetings with their supporters and close associates in their respective constituencies. “They are likely to be formally brought into the fold of Congress at the event which will be attended by Priyanka Gandhi,” informed a senior leader.
Congress leaders are optimistic about Srinivas Reddy joining, particularly after Rahul Gandhi's recent stopover at RGIA, where he met with a delegation sent by PCC — the Sunil Kanugolu team — to discuss seat preferences.
“In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress alliance won eight out of 10 seats in the erstwhile Khammam district. The Congress has a solid traditional vote bank and cadre base. Keeping all this in mind, the majority of Ponguleti 's followers are positive about Congress,” the leader explained.
Krishna Rao hailing from the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district is also conducting meetings with his followers in various constituencies. “The Congress has won many times in the Kollapur constituency, whereas the BJP has never won in the Kollapur constituency. Jupally may join us soon,” added the leader.
