Hyderabad: BRS Serilingampally MLA Arekapudi Gandhi joined the Congress in the presence of TPCC president and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at his residence here on Saturday. Gandhi is the ninth BRS MLA to have joined the Congress after it came to power seven months ago in December 2023.
There is speculation that BRS Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy has decided to join the Congress. He met Revanth Reddy on Saturday night and expressed his willingness to join the Congress. But Mahipal Reddy is yet to official join the party.
Gandhi is the fourth from the Greater Hyderabad limits who joined Congress. Prior to him, BRS MLAs Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella) and T. Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar) had joined the Congress.
The Congress had fared badly in the Greater Hyderabad limits winning only Ibrahimpatnam out of the 27 Assembly seats. The BRS demonstrated its dominance by winning 18 seats, the AIMIM seven and the BJP retained Goshamahal.
The BRS bagged Patancheru, LB Nagar, Maheshwaram, Rajendranagar, Serilinagampally, Chevella, Medchal, Malkajgiri, Quthbullapur, Kukatpally, Uppal, Musheerabad, Amberpet, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills,
Sanathnagar, Secunderabad and Secunderabad Cantonment seat.
The Congress won its second seat in the city by wresting Secunderabad Cantonment in a bypoll in May.
However, four BRS MLAs Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella), T. Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar) and Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampally) joining it, the Congress tally in the Greater
Hyderabad limits has increased to six.
A few more BRS MLAs from Greater Hyderabad limits are expected to join Congress in the next few days.
