Rajagopal Reddy all set to join BJP soon!

Hyderabad: Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, a rebel Congress MLA from Telangana, appears to have finally made up his mind to switch his loyalties to the BJP.

A member of Telangana Legislative Assembly from Munugode, he made it clear that his resignation and the by-election are certain.

Though senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, on the direction of the Congress leadership, had invited Reddy to New Delhi for talks, the rebel MLA ignored the invite and late Friday night issued a statement.

Rajagopal Reddy announced that he would be sounding the war bugle against the "corrupt and family rule" of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

He vowed to liberate the state from the clutches of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the KCR family, who he alleged to have amassed massive wealth and pushed the state into a debt spiral.

Rajagopal Reddy said he would not compromise on his mission to free Telangana from the misrule and corruption of TRS.

Responding to allegations against him, he said his aim was not to serve his own interests.

In a clear hint that he will soon be joining the BJP, the rebel MLA said his decision was being welcomed by all including the people of Munugode.

The legislator said the efforts to form a people's government would begin from Munugode.

He declared that the next elections would be between the Pandavas and Kouravas, and that the Chief Minister and his "money-distributing army" will face defeat.

He also accused KCR of deliberately ignoring development of Munugode ever since he was elected from there. He alleged that the government was deliberately not completing the SLBC and Brahmana Vellamla projects.

"I had said last year itself that I was ready to resign from my post, if the State government worked to fulfil the aspirations of Dalits, STs, BCs, minorities and other sections. I'm not someone who goes back on his words," Rajagopal wrote.

Ever since his meeting with Union Home minister Amit Shah a few days ago, Rajagopal Reddy stepped up attacks on the Congress party.

He stated that only BJP is capable of defeating TRS.

He had also remarked that if summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should appear before it.

The Central leadership of the Congress party took serious note of his remarks but avoided taking any strong action. The leadership had asked Digvijay Singh to hold talks with Rajagopal Reddy to persuade him to stay in the party.

However, by avoiding the meeting he has sent clear signals that he will quit Congress and join BJP.

Though the MLA had been making bitter attack on the party, the leadership was handling the issue carefully in view of the fact that his brother Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is a MP in the party.

The party had earlier sent Congress Legislative Party (CLP) chief Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to meet the rebel MLA and pacify him.

The CLP leader, however, failed in his efforts.

Earlier in the day, Amid the news that Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy would join the Bharatiya Janata Party anytime soon, the former Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday met the latter. It is said that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has asked Uttam Kumar Reddy to pacify the disgruntled party leader. It is reported that Uttam Kumar Reddy has been discussing with the latter not to leave the party. It is reported that the Rajagopal Reddy recently met the BJP bigwigs and has been giving hints that he would quit the Congress soon.

On July 27, referring to the issue of the party MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, TPCC chief Revanth Reddy said they would discuss the issue in the party internally and added that the party high command would take a final decision on the issue. The issue of Rajagopal Reddy had become a hot topic in the State following his announcement that he would quit the Congress party as soon as possible.

Adding fuel to the fire, State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar has said that Congress senior leader and Munugodu MLA Rajagopal Reddy is to join the saffron party soon, Bringing an end to the speculation of Reddy's joining, he recalled that the MLA had supported the decisions and initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier.

Former MP and BJP national executive member Vivek Venkataswamy, along with senior party leaders, had held a consultation with Reddyl on his joining the party, he added. According to party sources, the joining would take place in Delhi in the presence of national president JP Nadda. The Congress MLA was also likely meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The State BJP chief also said that the party welcomes any MLA who resigns and joins it. Speaking to The Hans India, a party senior leader said that no specific date has been so far fixed on his joining the party. It will be decided only after due consultations with the Munugodu MLA. And, "once the date is fixed he will be joining the party at Delhi ahead of the third phase of Praja Sangrama Yatra," he added.

Meanwhile, Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender welcomed 'joining' of Reddy in the party fold. Amid this development, Reddy was scheduled to meet Bandi late on Wednesday. However, it has been postponed. Vivek Venkataswamy and a few BJP leaders have decided to meet him.

In a related development, Reddy held hectic parleys with his supporting local Congress leaders and cadre on joining the BJP. He explained to them he would resign as MLA before joining the BJP and that there would be a by-election.

Earlier, sources from AICC also said that the high command would take serious action against Rajagopal Reddy. It also stated that apart from ousting the latter, it would also approach the State Assembly Speaker to disqualify the latter from holding the MLA post which he won on the Congress ticket.