Setback to BRS as Peddapalli MP Venkatesh Netha joins Congress in Delhi

Hyderabad: Member of Parliament from Lok Sabha Peddapalli (SC) constituency Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta switched from Bharat Rashtra Samithi to the Indian National Congress party in New Delhi creating a flutter in Telangana.

Former TTD member Manne Jeevan from Mahabubnagar also joined the Congress party in the presence of All-India Congress Committee general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and chief minister A Revanth Reddy.

Fortifying Lok Sabha 2024 preparations

The Congress party in power in Telangana is preparing for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections and they are looking at strengthening the party.

With BRS out of power, rumours of party leaders switching sides have been going on for a long time. The joining of Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta, according to Congress party sources, is just the beginning. Venkatesh is reportedly dissatisfied with the attitude of BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao and his son KT Rama Rao.

More leaders to switch allegiance soon

To win Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party needs strong and popular candidates. They are looking at candidates from BRS and Bharatiya Janata Party in the state who will join them. A senior Congressperson said, “Discussions are going on with a group of leaders. There will be some more joinings in the days to come.”

The party is looking at strongholds in Northern Telangana, Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad where in the recent Assembly elections the Congress party has made few gains.

Lack of good candidates

The Congress party has a lot of workers and middle-level leaders but strong leaders to fight the elections are yet to come into the spotlight. For this reason, those who are showing an inclination to join Congress are being taken in keeping their strengths in those districts in mind.