Speculations are rife in political circles in Telangana over the re-entry of former MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy to the Congress and quit BJP in the wake of the party’s massive victory in Karnataka in last month’s Assembly elections.However, BJP leaders dismissed the rumours.
He resigned from Congress and joined BJP in August 2022.He unsuccessfully contested on a BJP ticket in Munugode Assembly constituency by-elections.
The BRS won that battle, with Prabhakar Reddy defeating Rajagopal Reddy by more than 10,000 votes.
However, his brother Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who is a Congress MP from the Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency, told reporters three days ago in New Delhi that all those who left the Congress would rejoin the party.
When the reporters repeatedly asked him whether his brother Rajagopal Reddy would return to Congress as well, he said all the leaders would come back to the party.“During my 20-minute discussion with the high command, I discussed the names of the leaders who were willing to join the party,” he said, refusing to share further details.
“It’s an internal matter of the party….I cannot share more details…” he said, adding that he requested senior leaders in New Delhi to allocate more time to focus on Telangana and asked them to visit the state for at least every 10 days.
More clarity on the visit of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi to Telangana would emerge only after 7 July.He said the main objective of the high command was to win more Lok Sabha seats from Telangana and form a government like in Karnataka.
Sources said the re-entry of Rajagopal Reddy into the Congress would be determined based on the decision to be taken by suspended BRS leaders Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Jupalli Krishna Rao on which party they are going to join soon.
On the other hand, BJP leaders dismissed rumours of Rajagopal Reddy going back into the Congress fold.
They claimed that no one would leave the party and join the Congress, which failed to get even a deposit during the GHMC polls and byelections to Dubakka and Huzurabad Assembly constituencies.
It was the BJP that was fighting against the anti-people policies of the BRS government in Telangana, they said.
