The party high command is watching the developments helplessly.
Hyderabad: Sabita Indra Reddy, a Congress MLA and former home minister of combined Andhra Pradesh, praised Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the “next Prime Minister after the coming Parliament elections” at a rally held near Shamshabad international airport in Hyderabad on 9 March. As the venue of the rally comes under her constituency, she was behind the crowd mobilisation for the rally.
However, the very next morning on 10 March, she sat down with AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi to finalise modalities for her defection to the ruling TRS. She was accompanied by her son, Karthik Reddy, and once the details were worked out, TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) joined them. A deal has been okayed for her entry into the ruling party.
Sabita, who turns 56 by May, is the face of the Congress in Ranga Reddy district and carries the legacy of her late husband P. Indra Reddy who first came out of TDP and fought for separate statehood of Telangana in 1999. Two days later, Sabita and Karthik called on TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) at Pragathi Bhavan and officially declared their joining TRS.
Sources close to Sabita said she would be made a minister and her son Karthik would be given TRS ticket to contest from the Chevella Lok Sabha seat in the 11 April elections. The Chevella seat was won by TRS in 2014, but its MP Konda Viswesvar Reddy joined Congress before the 7 December Assembly elections. Now, Karthik will fight with Viswesvar Reddy, the sources said.
Sabita is the fifth Congress MLA in Telangana to switch over to TRS since 13 December 2018 when the Assembly election results were announced, thus taking the former’s tally in the House from 19 to 14. Even as the Congress high command was enquiring about the defections, yet another of their MLAs, K. Upender Reddy from Palair in Khammam district, announced his defection to TRS on Friday.
Now, the Congress has only 13 MLAs in Telangana. When two of its MLAs—Atram Sakku and Rega Kantha Rao—both STs, defected to TRS, the Pradesh Congress Committee planned agitations in their respective constituencies. But, the exodus continued unabated and three more legislators defected to the ruling party, thus paralysing the protest plans. Besides, one TDP MLA S. Venkat Veeraiah, too, joined TRS.
The developments in Telangana have become a cause for concern to the Congress high command as it planned a series of rallies by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Vadra in the next three weeks. Both the party high command and the local PCC leaders are watching the developments helplessly as their efforts to prevent defection of their MLAs have failed.
Due to the stream of defections from its ranks, the Congress which has enough—21 MLAs—to win an MLC seat in the 12 March polls, the party had to boycott the polls as their numbers depleted. Due to this, TRS could easily get elected all its four candidates and one from ally, AIMIM. Telangana Congress committee treasurer Gudur Narayan Reddy, a fund raiser, couldn’t fulfill his dream of becoming an MLC.
Telangana Congress president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has attacked Chief Minister KCR and KTR for encouraging defections “through purchase of MLAs” like cattle in the market. However, KTR retaliated by asking for how much Congress had purchased TRS MP Viswevar Reddy before the Assembly elections. “Congress MLAs are coming to us as they had lost faith in their leadership,” KTR claimed.
Addressing a party meeting this week, CM KCR mentioned about the defections from Congress MLAs and said that he was asking them to join TRS “if only they are prepared to face by-elections” in the future. In fact, TRS is getting signatures of all defected MLAs on a format which says: “I am ready to face the by-elections in case it becomes necessary.”
The defection of Congress MLAs is seen as a mind-game played by the TRS ahead of Lok Sabha election which some national level surveys projected two or three seats to the Grand Old Party. However, the TRS is keen on seeing that it wins all the 16 MPs besides one by ally, AIMIM. KCR is focusing on winning the Khammam seat where a majority of MLAs were won by Congress.
The CM is also particular that MP Viswesvar Reddy is defeated as he had let him down before the Assembly elections. There are indications that a few more Congress MLAs might switch to TRS in the coming days. If two more of them defect, Congress leader in the Assembly, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will lose his status as Opposition Leader with Cabinet rank.
A minimum of 10% members are needed for a party to be recognised as Opposition in the Telangana Assembly with a 120 strength.