HYDERABAD: Nearly a year and a half after 10 MLAs defected from BRS, the party is now focusing on these constituencies to build confidence among second-rung leaders and core activists who continue to support the party despite the shift in allegiance from the MLAs.
According to party sources, BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao recently instructed leaders, including party working president KT Rama Rao and senior MLA Harish Rao, to cover the 10 Assembly segments. Their task is to prepare the cadre and second-rung leaders for the upcoming local and urban body elections and boost morale among ground-level workers.
Sources said the party chief is likely to appoint new in-charges for these constituencies or assign former ministers to oversee them. Their role would include conducting regular meetings, attending party programmes, and identifying potential candidates for the next Assembly elections.
The MLAs from Banswada, Jagtial, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally, Chevella, Gadwal, Khairatabad, Bhadrachalam, Station Ghanpur, and Patancheru are alleged to have defected to the Congress. However, most of these MLAs have officially informed the Telangana Assembly Speaker that they still continue with the BRS.
With this development, the BRS is pressing ahead with its allegation that the MLAs joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and have been demanding their disqualification. At the same time, the party is preparing its cadre not to consider them as BRS MLAs and wants to send this message directly through meetings in these constituencies.
Meanwhile, second-level leaders and committed workers have been waiting for clarity on the party’s stand regarding whether to oppose the sitting MLAs in their constituencies.
They are now expected to receive direction through leadership meetings and communication.