Now, Congress leaders on CM KCR radar in Telangana
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Congress leadership, basking in the afterglow of a very successful July 2 public meeting at Khammam which was addressed by party leader Rahul Gandhi, received a jolt on Thursday in the form of reports that BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has got in touch with some important leaders of the grand old party and is set to put in motion his own version of “Operation Akarsh” from July 18 onwards.
Reports reaching the Congress camp said that some important leaders in the grand old party were in touch with KCR. Soon, Congress leaders were discussing in hushed voices who might defect to the Pink party, especially at a time the fortunes of the grand old party look to be on the upswing.
However, leaders of the ruling party too confirmed that “Operation Akarsh” would begin in the second half of the month. Having got a whiff of what is happening in the BRS camp, the Congress leadership has begun pulling itself together, and if insiders are to be believed, has begun the process of identifying the potential chinks in the party’s armour.
The BRS, on its part, wants to steal the thunder from the Congress after it had landed Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao by beckoning the unhappy leaders in the Congress to don pink robes. The BRS is targeting the leaders who are not comfortable working with certain senior leaders in the party.
A well-entrenched source in the BRS said two important leaders in Congress are likely to defect to the Pink party and are waiting for the green signal from the Chief Minister. At present, KCR is focusing on segments where he has to replace sitting MLAs with Congress candidates. The sources stated that efforts were on to cajole important leaders who have influence in more than one constituency.
As the Congress is planning to announce its first list of Assembly candidates in the last week of August or the first week of September, the BR’s supremo wants to strike a preemptive blow on the grand old party by landing the big Congress fish. There are reports that BRS has already been in touch with eight leaders who could be BRS’ potential candidates in the Assembly elections. They are from the erstwhile Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar, Warangal, and Rangareddy districts. Information reaching Congress says that two former ministers and another important leader are under KCR’s radar.