HYDERABAD/SIDDIPET : Amidst the ongoing MLAs desertion saga, BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday urged his legislators to not take any “hasty” decisions as the pink party has a bright future.
He held a meeting with MLAs at his Erravalli farmhouse in Markook mandal of Siddipet district. Around 10 MLAs, including former minister T Harish Rao attended the meeting. But 21 legislators skipped the meeting due to various reasons.
Recently, two MLAs Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and B Sanjay Kumar left the BRS and joined the Congress. Commenting on defections, Rao reportedly told his MLAs not to take Srinivas Reddy’s decision seriously. The party witnessed such defections even during (former AP chief minister) YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure, Rao reportedly said.
He said that Congress government failed to implement its assurances and people are unhappy with the government.
The law and order situation is out of control in the state, Rao said. Due to the poor performance of the government, people will rally behind BRS again, Rao told his MLAs.
Vemula Prashanth Reddy, KP Vivekananda, Maganti Gopinath, Muta Gopal, Madhavaram Krishna Rao, Arekapudi Gandhi and Prakash Goud were among those who attended the Tuesday’s meeting.
Former minister Ch Malla Reddy and his son-in-law Rajasekhar Reddy were conspicuous by their absence.
Series of meetings planned
Rao said that he would convene a series of meetings with party MLAs and MLCs from Wednesday onwards.
This is the first time that Rao held a meeting with party MLAs at his farmhouse after the LS elections. The BRS won 39 seats in the 2023 Assembly elections. Out of 38 MLAs, one died in a road mishap and five defected to the Congress.
There is speculation that a few more BRS MLAs, including Patancheru legislator Gudem Mahipal Reddy who is facing ED charges, are likely to leave the party to join either the BJP or Congress in the near future.