BRS candidates in a bind as turncoats queue up to switch loyalties across TS

Hyderabad: The BRS candidates are facing heat from the turncoats as the local leaders are joining the rival parties after having started their campaign with them. Since most of the candidates are new, they are unable to come to terms with the local leaders, and not sure whether they will be in the party or will leave.

At a time when the campaign needs to be intensified locally, the candidates and the important leaders of the party are in a spot whether the leaders will be with the party or they will switch to other parties. The party candidates are facing difficulties because until now the leaders who were given the election responsibility are deserting the party and now, they would have to give the same responsibility to another leader in the last few days of campaign.

Citing an example, a senior BRS leader said that party leader E Peddi Reddy was with the BRS and also participated in the campaign in support of party candidate B Vinod in Huzurabad but now he has joined the BJP. He is one of the important leaders and also was the probable candidate from the Huzurabad Assembly segment but now he has left the party. The mandal and village level leaders play a crucial role in influencing voters.

In the past, when the BRS was in power, the party senior leaders like working president KT Rama Rao used to intervene and pacify them in the guise of nominated posts and other benefits. But the senior leaders are focusing on the campaign and are busy pacifying MLA-level leaders. KTR used to give responsibility to the MLAs and important leaders in the constituency who used to take care of everything.

However, with the changed scenario after the Assembly elections, many MLAs of the party have lost the elections. Some of the leaders including sitting BRS MPs have joined other parties resulting in new candidates. The new candidates are unable to gauge the movements of the local leaders. They are not sure whether the leader would stay in the party and reach out to voters with different means including cash, liquor etc.

Already the leaders in the urban local bodies are shifting to the Congress party. Some of the leaders are meeting the ministers while they are touring the districts, raising doubts on their next moves. The leaders like Mayors of Hyderabad, Warangal and other ULBs have joined the Congress party. In effect, the party leadership is facing more problems with the next move of the party leaders rather than focusing on the campaign.