HYDERABAD: With the Lok Sabha elections fast approaching, the Bharatiya Janata Party is intensifying its efforts to invite leaders from the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS). The saffron party leadership is determined to win a majority of Lok Sabha segments in Telangana.
As part of this, the BJP on Sunday inducted into its ranks former BRS MPs Godem Nagesh and Prof Seetaram Naik and former MLAs Jalagam Venkat Rao and S Saidi Reddy in the presence of party national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman and legislature party leader A Maheswar Reddy in Delhi. Senior Congress leader Gomasa Srinivas also joined the BJP.
BJP Telangana president and Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy had held discussions with these leaders two days ago to invite them into the saffron party. He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party national president JP Nadda to get a green signal for the induction of the former BRS MLAs and MPs into the BJP.
BJP sources stated that Kishan Reddy as part of ‘Operation Akarsh’ assured Godem Nagesh and Seetaram Naik the Adliabad and Mahabubabad Lok Sabha tickets respectively. Former Kothagudem MLA Jalagam Venkat Rao is likely to be fielded from Khammam Lok Sabha constituency.
Sources said that Saidi Reddy is likely to get a ticket to contest from Nalgonda. He was elected to the Assembly from Huzurnagar in the bypoll in 2019 after N Uttam Kumar Reddy’s resignation following his election as MP. Senior Congress leader Gomasu Srinivas and folk singer Mittapalli Surender are expecting the Peddapalli ticket.