Hyderabad: In a surprising turn of events, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, MLA from Gadwal constituency, rejoined the BRS just days after defecting to the ruling Congress party on Tuesday.
Reddy, who had left the party on July 6, surfaced at the BRS Legislature Party chambers in the Legislative Assembly premises and met BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao to express his desire to return to the party fold.
Party sources said that Rama Rao immediately called up his father and BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao and sought his approval. Chandrashekar Rao reportedly gave his nod following which Reddy rejoined the party, BRS leaders claimed.
Speculations were rife in BRS circles that three more party MLAs, who had defected to the Congress, including Kale Yadaiah (Chevella), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru) and Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam) are in contact with BRS leadership and are willing to rejoin BRS.
The reasons behind Krishna Mohan's swift change of allegiance are not immediately clear. However, it has been reported that he felt uncomfortable within the Congress ranks. Notably, Congress workers from the Gadwal constituency had expressed opposition to his entry into their party, adding to the complexity of the situation.
The return of Krishna Mohan is a notable development for BRS as it provides some relief, following the series of defections. Since March, BRS has lost ten MLAs, six MLCs, and several senior leaders to Congress. This includes a major setback in the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly by-election, where its candidate was defeated by Congress, reducing its strength in the Assembly.
With Krishna Mohan's re-entry, BRS hopes to stabilise its position in the state Assembly. The party, which initially secured 39 seats in the 119-member House, saw its numbers dwindle to 28 due to defections and electoral losses.
Meanwhile, the Congress party's strength increased to 72 seats, bolstered by the recent influx of BRS MLAs.
In a different development, BRS Medchal MLA Ch. Malla Reddy went to the CLP office in the Assembly and met Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday. This fuelled speculations about a possible switching of loyalties. However, later Malla Reddy clarified that he had met Vikramarka to seek funds for his constituency and there was no other political significance.
Meanwhile, a picture of Bhadrachalam BRS MLA Tellam Venkat Rao, who defected to Congress, having a conversation with BRS MLAs in the
assembly lobby on Tuesday went viral on social media and fuelled speculations of his 'ghar wapsi'. However, Tellam said that there was no truth in the rumours. “It is not right to spread such rumours against me. It is not right to send pictures of me having tea with BRS MLAs in the Assembly lobby,” Rao said.
Making light of this incident, minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said that the media had blown the issue out of proportion. "Where did Krishna Mohan say that he is rejoining BRS? Did he tell the media about this? BRS leaders are spreading lies on this."
Congress MLA Yennam Srinivas Reddy also denied reports that Krishna Mohan was ill-treated in the Congress.
"We have given him due importance. He is facing some issues in his constituency with Congress leaders and former Gadwal zilla parishad chairperson Saritha, who contested against him in the Assembly polls. That could be the reason for his disappointment."
