In a major blow to the BRS, six MLCs joined the Congress in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at his Jubilee Hills residence.

The MLCs Dande Vittal, Bhanu Prasad, B Dayanad, Prabhakar Rao, E Mallesham and Basavaraju Saraiah joined the grand old party soon after Revanth Reddy returned from a two-day trip to the national capital.

According to the Telangana Legislative Council website, currently the BRS has 25 members and Congress has four. With the fresh defections, Congress’s strength is set to go up to 10 in the legislative council.

There are four nominated MLCs, two members from AIMIM, one each from BJP, PRTU, and one independent MLC, while two seats are vacant in the 40-member house.

The BRS continues to suffer from desertions, with several leaders, including six MLAs, leaving the party after its defeat in the assembly polls last year.