Hyderabad:

This comes after the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, led by former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, suffered a defeat in last year’s assembly elections. A massive exodus of people. On the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, more than a dozen senior leaders have changed their stance.

There are more than 10 names on the BJP list as former members of the BRS. Among them is former BRS minister Eatala Rajender. He is a candidate from Malkajgiri and joined the BJP in June 2021 after being expelled from the BRS.

While he had been in the party for some time, many others also made the switch and got the BJP nomination within hours.

Zaheerabad’s current MP from BRS resigned and became the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate within hours. Bharat, son of BRS MP Ramulu, traveled from Nagarkurnool within hours of father and son switching parties. Aroori Ramesh emerged as the Warangal BJP candidate in the same manner.

Congress has been welcoming BRS leaders in a similar manner. Chewela MP Ranjith Reddy, who won as the BRS candidate, is now representing the Congress from the same seat.

Danam Nagender, who won the BRS MLA from Khairatabad in the November 30 elections, has been fielded from Secunderabad by the Congress party. Sunita Mahender Reddy, wife of former BRS minister Patnam Mahender Reddy, is the BRS Vikarabad Zillah president and is now the Congress candidate for Malkajgiri people.

Kadiyam Kavya, who contested the BRS ticket from Warangal, has shifted to the Congress and is contesting from the same seat. Her father Kadiyam Srihari was also elected as BRS MLA in the November 30 assembly elections.

Two other key BRS leaders – Peddapalli MP Venkatesh Netha – have entered the Congress but are yet to be confirmed. Warangal MP Pasunuri Dayakar has also switched to the Congress party but has not been fielded by the party yet.

In 2019, nine of the state’s 17 Lok Sabha seats went to Mr Rao’s party, four to the BJP, three to the Congress and one to the A.M. In the hands of AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi.

At that time, the party led by Rao (still called Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS) was dominant as he was the father of the statehood movement.

The party began to decline after the name change – many in the party privately acknowledged that the leader’s shift away from national issues and towards national aspirations was not popular with voters.

Added to this are allegations of corruption, including the alleged involvement of Mr Rao’s daughter K Kavitha in the Delhi liquor case.