Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy lost the Munugode bypoll to KCR's party candidate
A former Telangana MLA, who quit the Congress last year and joined the BJP, is set to return to the Congress weeks ahead of the Assembly polls. Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy has resigned from the BJP. He has said his aim is to "trounce" the K Chandrashekar Rao government in Telangana and added that the "people's mood is in favour of the Congress".
Mr Reddy made headlines in August last year when he quit the Congress and joined the BJP. His resignation as a legislator vacated the Munugode Assembly seat. In the bypoll that followed, Mr Reddy lost to Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy from KCR's party by a margin of about 10,000 votes.
The Munugode election last November is considered to be one of the most expensive polls in the country's history owing to the parties' spending spree to woo voters. According to poll officers, cash worth Rs 8 crore and 5,000 litres of liquor were seized in the run-up to the election. The bypoll was also in news for being the 'most-watched' election in the country -- 48 CCTV cameras kept an eye on the polling process that was webcast across 298 police stations.
Announcing his decision to quit BJP, Mr Reddy said, "My aim is to trounce the KCR government. The people's mood is in the favour of Congress, so I am abiding by people's will."
Mr Reddy's brother Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is a Congress MP, representing Bhuvanagiri in Parliament.
The Congress is pushing hard in its campaign to unseat the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government in Telangana. Top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have attended poll meetings in the state and accused KCR of promoting his family members while neglecting the state's issues.
The dynasty attack has drawn a sharp response from KCR's minister son KT Rama Rao and MLC daughter K Kavitha. Both had hit back at the Gandhi siblings, saying it is ridiculous that the greatgrandchildren of Jawaharlal Nehru and grandchildren of Indira Gandhi were targeting them over family politics.