Venkat Reddy & wife join BRS in big setback to BJP

HYDERABAD: In a fresh blow to BJP's bid to capture power in the ensuing assembly elections, party corporator from Bagh Amberpet Padma Venkat Reddy and her husband, senior BJP leader B Venkat Reddy bade goodbye to the party and joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in the presence of BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Friday.
Venkat Reddy was once city BJP president, a follower of state party chief G Kishan Reddy and has been with the party for over 40 years.Friday's development is being seen as a setback to Kishan Reddy himself as he had represented Amberpet constituency, which is one of the strongholds of the saffron party in Hyderabad.
Senior BRS leaders claimed that four BJP corporators in GHMC were in touch with the party leadership. Last year, four BJP corporators joined BRS ahead of the BJP national executive council meeting. Of late, BRS has been focusing on assembly constituencies represented by BJP and also on the segments where the saffron party has a strong presence. BRS is expecting that Kishan Reddy will contest from Amberpet in the forthcoming polls and hence shifted its energies to poach saffron party leaders in the constituency. Party MLA Kaleru Venkatesh had won against Kishan Reddy in the 2018 assembly elections.
Venkat Reddy, who was eyeing the Amberpet seat, is unhappy with the saffron party leadership as his name was not being considered this time also, sources said.
Sources said not only Amberpet, BRS is also trying to woo BJP corporators from other segments such as Uppal and LB Nagar.