Politics

Rajagopal Reddy’s BIG U-turn.. Reddy’s homecoming to Congress

9 months ago
170 Views
Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy

Former MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy has resigned from the BJP and is now ready to join the Congress party. He will officially join the Congress party on October 27th in Delhi, in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. Over the past few days, there have been leaks about Rajagopal Reddy’s defection from the BJP and his intention to join the Congress.  Rajagopal Reddy’s name was not included in the recent first list of BJP candidates. After discussions with his followers and local cadre, Rajagopal Reddy has ultimately made the decision to return to his home party, the Congress.

BJP failed to emerge as credible alternative for BRS : Rajagopal Reddy

Rajagopal Reddy has given two reasons for his resignation from the BJP. He stated that the party failed to establish itself as a credible alternative to the BRS party and also did not take appropriate action against the corrupt practices of the KCR government. Interestingly, when he left the Congress and joined the BJP in 2022, Rajagopal Reddy expressed his belief that the BJP was a strong alternative to the BRS in Telangana. Prior to joining the BJP, while still a member of the Congress party, he made several pro-BJP statements. However, as the Congress party faced defeats in the GHMC elections, Dubbaka and Huzurabad by-elections, and the BJP gained momentum, Rajagopal Reddy decided to switch to the saffron party. After much contemplation, he officially joined the BJP in August 2022. After Rajagopal Reddy’s resignation from the MLA post, a by-election was held in the Munugode, and he contested on a BJP ticket in the election. He was defeated by BRS candidate Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy by a margin of 10,000 votes in that election. This election garnered national attention, being the most expensive by-election in the country at the time.

During the Munugode by-election, the BRS and Congress parties made sensational allegations about Rajagopal Reddy joining the BJP. Rajagopal Reddy’s inclusion in the BJP has been described as a quid pro-quo. Both parties have alleged that the Central government has allocated a coal project worth Rs 18 thousand crores in Jharkhand to Sushi Infra and Mining Ltd., a company owned by his family, as a reward for Rajagopal Reddy’s joining the BJP. The Congress and the BRS have also alleged that Rs.5 crores were diverted to the bank accounts of local BJP leaders for the Munugode by-election through various bank accounts belonging to the Sushi Infra Company. However, all these allegations were denied by Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and his family. Sankeerth Reddy, the director of the company and son of Rajagopal Reddy, explained at that time that Sushi Infra Company secured the Jharkhand mining project through a transparent tender process.

Why Rajagopal Reddy quits BJP!

After suffering a defeat in the Munugode by-election, Rajagopal Reddy’s maintaining distance with the BJP However, he has consistently condemned speculations surrounding his intentions to defect from the party. At one point, Revanth Reddy called for leaders who had previously left the Congress in the name of Ghar Wapsi to return to the party. Despite this, Rajagopal Reddy harshly criticised Revanth Reddy, referring to him as a beggar. Rajagopal Reddy said it was ridiculous for Revanth Reddy to invite him to join the Congress, saying that Revanth Reddy himself had migrated from the TDP to that party. However, Rajagopal Reddy’s stance has changed as political developments in the state rapidly evolve. He is currently uncertain about his political future within the BJP, especially after Bandi Sanjay was removed as party president, which has caused the party’s graph to decline.

Meanwhile Congress party has got momentum in Telangana after winning Karnataka elections. Furthermore, Rajagopal Reddy’s name was not included in the recent announcement of the BJP’s first list of candidates. There have been reports that Rajagopal Reddy has requested the BJP leadership for two MLA tickets for his family. One ticket is for his wife Lakshmi to contest from Munugode, while the other would be for himself to contest from LB Nagar. However, the BJP has not taken any decision on Rajagopal’s request, which is why his name was missed in the first list of BJP candidates. After considering all the factors, Rajagopal Reddy decided that he could no longer go ahead with the BJP. Consequently, He announced today that he was leaving the party.

BJP’s reaction over Rajagopal Reddy’s resignation

Kishan Reddy, the Telangana BJP president, reacted to Rajagopal Reddy quitting from the BJP, stating that it was Rajagopal Reddy’s wish. He disagreed with Rajagopal Reddy, emphasizing that the BJP is not an alternative to BRS. Kishan Reddy added that the alternative to BRS should be decided by the public. Etela Rajender, another key leader of the BJP, responded by saying that it is natural for those who do not receive tickets during the elections to quit parties. Rajagopal Reddy’s brother, Congress MP Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy, stated that whoever joins the party will be welcomed. He expressed confidence in the Congress tsunami in the Telangana assembly elections.

From where will Rajagopal Reddy contest?

In the upcoming assembly elections, the Congress party is contesting in an alliance with the Communist parties. As part of the alliance, there are proposals to allocate Chennuru and Kothagudem assembly seats to the CPI party and Wyra and Miryalaguda seats to the CPM. However, the CPI is insisting on being allotted an additional assembly seat in Munugode. This raises the question of what will happen to Rajagopal Reddy if Munugode assembly segment is given to the CPI. There are speculations that in such a scenario, Rajagopal Reddy may choose to contest from either Maheswaram or LBnagar assembly constituencies.

What’s your Reaction?
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
Tags:
Shares: