In yet another blow to Telangana Congress, Yellandu MLA Banoth Haripriya announced that she will be joining the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi. She is the fourth Congress MLA to switch loyalties to the TRS this month.
Haripriya said she decided to join the TRS in the interest of her constituency's development. She said if necessary, she would resign from the Assembly to seek fresh mandate on a TRS ticket.
Her announcement came a day after Chirumarthi Lingaiah, MLA from Nakrekal, announced his decision to join the TRS. Rega Kantha Rao and Atram Sakku, both tribal MLAs, had joined the TRS on March 2.
Haripriya's defection will bring down Congress's tally in 119-member Assembly to 15.
Her move came on a day when senior Congress leader and legislator Sabitha Indra Reddy called on TRS Working President K T Rama Rao on Sunday.
The meeting took place at the residence of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi's residence in Shastripuram.
Sabitha Raddy, who served as Home Minister in Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's cabinet in undivided Andhra Pradesh, put forth the condition that either she or her son P Karthik Reddy be fielded from Chevella Lok Sabha seat. Reportedly she decided to quit the party after the Congress denied ticket to her son to contest from Chevella, as Konda Visweshwar Reddy, who had joined the Congress recently would be contesting from there.
However, Sabitha denied meeting KTR and dismissing the rife speculations about joining TRS, she told ToI on Sunday, “There has been a campaign against me that I am quitting Congress party and joining TRS for the past two months, especially on the social media. If there is any such development, I will share with the media first.”