Hyderabad: The TRS leadership on Friday inducted two BJP leaders - K. Swamy Goud and Dr Dasoju Sravan - landing powerful punches on the BJP with its own version of 'ghar wapsi'.
Both belong to the powerful Backward Classes community which is in a majority in the bypoll-bound Munugode Assembly constituency. Their induction came on the heels of the defection of TRS BC leader and former MP Dr Boora Narasaiah Goud.
Swamy Goud and Dr Sravan, former TRS leaders during the statehood agitation, rejoined the ruling party in the presence of TRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao on Friday. They had submitted their resignation to BJP earlier in the day.
TRS leadership is reportedly persuading senior leaders who quit the party to return.
Emotions ran high at a function hall in Manneguda on city outskirts where the two leaders joined the the TRS. As they walked into the hall, TRS leaders including Rama Rao hugged and greeted their 'former friends' and cadres raised "Jai Telangana" and "Jai KCR" slogans.
Speaking on the occasion, Rama Rao expressed happiness at the return of his two of his former colleagues. He said, "Although they might have deserted the TRS, the bond of working together in the statehood agitation for 13 years did not fade. Whenever we came across each other, we used to talk affectionately. That's the bond that exists between us, with any leader or worker who took part in the statehood agitation.. I am extremely delighted that my brothers have returned to their own house."
Thanking Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao and Rama Rao for welcoming them back, Goud and Dr Sravan termed it as a 'homecoming' and expressed the hope that the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) would bring about a change in polity and ensure welfare and development.
Goud noted they had rejoined the TRS on the anniversary of the Udyoga Garjana. "I had joined BJP with the hope that as a party in power at the Centre it would resolve the pending bifurcation issues. I made repeated requests to the state and national BJP leaders in this regard but in in vain."
"Since the BJP failed to fulfil my requests, I decided to quit it and join TRS, which will soon become BRS. and work for achieving the promises made to Telangana during bifurcation."
Dr Sravan heaped praise on the CM for the "Telangana model" of development. "In April 2014, I quit the TRS. I don't know whether I took this decision hastily. I joined the Congress and the BJP with a lot of hope that the national parties would do good to Telangana. But nothing happened.
