BJP loses another leader to TRS in Telangana

Hyderabad, Oct 24: The BJP in Telangana received another jolt ahead of Munugode by-election with former Rajya Sabha member Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar set to switch loyalties to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

He is likely to join the ruling party in a day or two. Anand Bhaskar met Chief Minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao and informed him that he is resigning from BJP and is keen to join TRS.

Bhaskar was a member of Rajya Sabha between 2012 and 2018 when he was in Congress.

A prominent leader from Padmashali community and senior journalist, Bhaskar said he was resigning from BJP due to anti-people policies of its government at the Centre.

He was all praise for the chief minister for taking numerous measures for the development of the handloom sector and also welfare of the weavers in the state.

He also expressed his displeasure over the imposition of GST on the handlooms and textiles by the BJP government at the Centre, terming it as an attempt to weaken the sector.

Bhaskar hoped that KCR would play a key role in national politics through the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the new name adopted by the TRS.

Bhaskar's resignation is the latest in a series of setbacks received by BJP ahead of the November 3 by-election to Munugode Assembly constituency.

He is the fourth leader to quit BJP and join the ruling party in the last one week.

After former MP B. Narsiah Goud quit TRS and joined the BJP, the saffron party has lost four leaders. For three of them, it was home coming as they were earlier associated with TRS.

Former MLA Bhishmaiah Goud was the first to quit the saffron party and return to TRS fold. On October 21, senior leader Dasoju Sravan and former chairman of Telangana Legislative Council, K. Swamy Goud joined the TRS.

Sravan had quit TRS in 2014 to join Congress while Swamy Goud had resigned from TRS in 2020 to join BJP.