Ghar Wapsi: Ahead of joining Congress, BRS MP Keshava Rao calls on CM Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad: Ahead of joining Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Rajya Sabha MP K Keshava Rao called on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at his residence here on Friday.

Rao, along with his daughter and Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi are likely to join the Congress in the next couple of days.

On the invitation of an AICC observer for the state Deepa Das Munshi, Keshava Rao, and his daughter reportedly decided to join the Congress.

Vijayalakshmi’s decision is likely to influence several corporators in Hyderabad. Even the voters from the Munnuru Kapu community are likely to swing. However, K Viplav Kumar, son of Keshava Rao, released a statement in which he said he would stick with the BRS. He distanced himself from the choices made by his father and sister.

Ghar Wapsi

Ras was second-in-command in the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). He was secretary general and chairman of national affairs of the party. In 2014, Keshava Rao was elected to Rajya Sabha on a TRS (now BRS) ticket. He also was made the chairman of the TRS Parliamentary Party. With 12 members, the TRS Parliamentary Party was the eighth-largest party in the Rajya Sabha.

Before joining TRS, Keshava Rao was a senior member of Congress who was given important roles in the government and party. In 2005, he was made President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee. In 2009, he was included in the Congress Working Committee. He was assigned to oversee Party matters in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Assam.

Keshava Rao served as a cabinet minister in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for three consecutive terms, overseeing key ministries including labor, industry, and education. Rao previously served as the deputy chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council. He was elected from the Graduates constituency to serve two terms on the legislative council. In addition, he held cabinet rank and served as head of the Rajiv Gandhi Technology Mission and the Minimum Wages Board.

From 2006–12, Rao was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was a left-wing politician and one of Telangana's greatest protagonists. Keshava Rao left Congress in May 2013 because the party had yet to decide about a separate Telangana state. Later, he and two other Members of Parliament joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) that was championing the cause of separate Telangana.