Hyderabad Mayor's Decision to Join Congress Surprises BRS

Hyderabad, March (IANS) In a big shock to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi on Thursday decided to join the ruling Congress.

Vijayalaxmi said that she will join the ruling party on March 30.

Her father and BRS General Secretary K. Keshav Rao is also likely to rejoin the Congress.

Her decision came a week after the Congress in charge of Telangana Deepa Dasmunsi met her and Keshav Rao at their residence and invited them to join the party.

Keshav Rao, a Rajya Sabha member, conveyed his decision to BRS President and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

The senior leader told him that he wanted to return to Congress as he had been associated with the party for a long time.

The BRS chief was reportedly upset as Keshav Rao, who held different positions during the last decade, was leaving the party in difficult times when it needed senior leaders like him.

Meanwhile, Keshav Rao’s son K. Viplav Kumar has clarified that he has nothing to do with the decision of his father and sister.

Viplav Kumar, the former Chairman of TS Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation, said he would remain with the BRS.

Vijayalaxmi’s move comes as the latest blow to the BRS, which lost power to Congress in the November 30, 2023 elections.

The party has lost several leaders, including five sitting MPs and a MLA, to the Congress or the BJP.

The Hyderabad Mayor’s shifting of loyalty is expected to be a shot in the arm for Congress, which drew a blank in the Assembly elections in the Greater Hyderabad region. Several BRS corporators are also likely to switch loyalties to Congress along with the Mayor.

In the previous elections held for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in 2020, the BRS had emerged as the largest party, winning 55 out of 150 wards. The BJP had emerged as the main opposition with 48 seats while the AIMIM, led by Asaduddin Owaisi, had secured 44. The Congress could win only two wards.