Hyderabad: In a major setback to the BRS party, its six Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) joined the Congress in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and AICC in-charge Deepa Das Munshi at Reddy's residence, Jubilee Hills here on Thursday at midnight.
The MLCs, including Dande Vitthal, Bhanu Prasad, Buggarapu Dayanand, M S Prabhakar Rao, Egge Mallesham, and Baswaraju Saraiah, were welcomed into the party by Revanth Reddy, who presented them with party scarves.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, former Minister Sudarshan Reddy, senior Congress leader Surender Reddy, and others were also present at the event. The induction program took place shortly after Chief Minister Revanth Reddy arrived in Hyderabad from New Delhi.
With the addition of the six BRS MLCs, the strength of the Congress in the Legislative Council has increased to 14. The total number of members in the Legislative Council is 40, with two vacant seats.
The Congress, which previously had six members, is expected to fill the two vacant seats from the Governor's quota, bringing their total to eight members. With the new additions, the Congress's strength now stands at 14.
So far, six BRS MLAs—Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, T Venkatrao, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Sanjay Kumar, and Kale Yadaiah—have also joined the Congress party. Legislative Council Chairman Gutta Sukhender Reddy's son, Amit, has also joined Congress.