Telangana Politics: Six BRS MLCs Defect to Congress, Alters Legislative Dynamics
Hyderabad, 5th July. Six Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) joined the Congress party on Friday night, dealing another blow to the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party. The defection took place in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, shortly after his return from a two-day trip to the national capital on Thursday night.
The MLCs who switched allegiance to Congress are Dande Vittal, Bhanu Prasad, B Dayanand, Prabhakar Rao, Basavaraju Saraiah, and E Mallesham. With this move, the Congress party’s strength in the Upper House of the Legislature has risen to 12 members. Currently, there are four nominated MLCs, two members from AIMIM, one each from BJP, PRTU, and an independent MLC, while two seats remain vacant in the 40-member house.
The BRS has been facing multiple desertions since its defeat in the assembly polls last year, including six MLAs who also left the party previously.
Reacting to the defections, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao criticized Congress, citing historical instances of defections during the Congress regime. “We have faced several defections of MLAs in the past in 2004-06 when Congress was in government. Telangana responded strongly by stepping up the people’s agitation & eventually Congress had to bow its head. History shall repeat itself,” Rama Rao remarked.
In the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, BRS won 39 out of 119 seats, while Congress emerged victorious with 64 seats. The recent bypoll for the Secunderabad Cantonment segment, following the demise of BRS MLA G Lasya Nanditha in a road accident earlier this year, resulted in Congress securing an additional seat, increasing its tally to 65.
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