HYDERABAD: State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay created a flutter in the beleaguered Congress on Thursday with cryptic remarks on Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. Referring to the Congress leader, he recalled that Venkat Reddy had been fighting against the TRS right from the beginning and had lavished praise on Modi Sarkar quite a few times. “We welcome anyone who believes in our ideology and Modi’s policies,” Sanjay said, fuelling speculation that Venkat Reddy too, like his brother Rajagopal, could be leaning towards the saffron party.
Rajagopal Reddy had the other day announced his resignation from the Congress and the legislature, necessitating a byelection to the Munugode constituency that he currently represents in the Assembly. Venkat Reddy, who has been maintaining silence on his brother’s expected defection to the BJP, found himself in a spot of bother with Sanjay’s comments. Clarifying himself, a fuming Venkat Reddy denied being in touch with the BJP while reaffirming faith in the Congress leadership.
The development comes amid the BJP’s renewed push to lure leaders from the Congress and the TRS in its bid to come to power in the State in next year’s Assembly elections. The challenge for the Congress is two-fold -- one, it has to deal with the BJP’s ‘Operation Aakarsh’ and two, it will have to set its house in order. It appears that the Congress leadership has intensified its efforts to make the State leaders work as a team post-Rajagopal’s exit.
The first sign of this came in the form of State Congress chief Revanth Reddy’s damage control exercise on Thursday. Having ruffled Venkat Reddy’s feathers just a day earlier with his unsavoury comments on the Nalgonda district brothers, he clarified that the Bhongir MP would stay put in the Congress 100 per cent as he is a disciplined worker.
“He clarified at a meeting with AICC general secretary KC Venugopal that he would never leave the Congress flag... he will work hard to help the Congress retain Munugode Assembly seat. He told me and other party leaders too yesterday... We have complete confidence in him.”
Revanth will be presiding over a meeting with key functionaries of the party from Munugode at the Zilla Parishad school grounds in Chundur on Friday. Important leaders from the erstwhile Nalgonda district will also be present. Speaking to Express, a senior Congress leader explained that the current difficulties in the State party were mainly due to internal differences among party leaders.
“They should be working as a team.. as for the BJP’s game-plan, only those leaders who believe they cannot get the party ticket in next Assembly elections and those who fear raids by the Enforcement Directorate will defect,” he reasoned. Asked about the prospects of the party in the upcoming by-poll, he exuded confidence saying that cadres were firmly with the party and the exit of a leader wouldn’t make much difference.
On the other hand, the BJP appears to be going for the kill. Party’s State in-charge Tarun Chugh is believed to have held talks with State leaders on Wednesday evening and is likely to visit the State on August 12 to take stock of the BJP’s preparations for the Munugode bypoll and plans to rope in leaders from the TRS and the Congress.
Interestingly, Bandi Sanjay claimed that 12 TRs MLAs were ready to resign and more bypolls were in the offing before the Big Fight next year. Is he bluffing and playing mind games? Or is there a grain of truth? Whatever the meaning of his words, the BJP for sure is keeping the Congress on its toes in Nalgonda district, where it wants to make inroads. In the last election in Munugode, the party ended up a distant third.