Jolt To Telangana Congress As Senior Leader Quits

Hyderabad:In yet another blow to the Congress in Telangana, its senior leader Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy on Sunday resigned from the party.

A former member of Telangana Legislative Council, Sudhakar Reddy is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He took the decision two days after his term as a member of the Council came to an end. In his resignation letter sent to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, he voiced his displeasure over the functioning of state leaders. He alleged that those with money power were given tickets to contest the elections while hardworking party leaders were ignored. Reddy's resignations came hours before Gandhi's arrival to kick-off the party's campaign for the April 11 elections to all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. The senior leader from Khammam district is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day. He might join the party at the BJP rally scheduled in Hyderabad on Monday. A few days ago, former minister D.K. Aruna switched loyalty to the BJP. She is contesting as the BJP candidate from the Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha seat. The Congress is already reeling under a series of desertions. As many as 10 MLAs of the party have defected to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) this month. In the Assembly elections held in December 2018, the Congress had bagged 19 seats in the 119-member Assembly.

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