Hyderabad: Noted Telugu Desam and Backward Class leader, R. Krishnaiah, is all set to join the Congress very soon. Mr Krishnaiah won the LB Nagar Assembly seat for the TD in the 2014 election.
The Congress party is keen on inducting Mr Krishnaiah into the party as he enjoys considerable clout among Backward Classes, having led the BC movement for over four decades now.
Representatives of AICC president Rahul Gandhi are directly in touch with Mr Krishanaiah and are holding discussions on his induction into the party. AICC in-charge for Telangana affairs, R C Khuntia, recently had a long meeting with Mr Krishnaiah, and apparently convinced him to join the Congress.
The AICC wants to adopt the “Gujarat formula” in Telangana where Patidar leader Hardik Patel, and OBC leader Alpesh Thakore were inducted into the Congress just before the Assembly elections in that state to get the support of major castes who constitute a huge vote bank.
Mr Krishaniah joined the TDP from which party?just ahead of the 2014 Assembly elections. TDP president Chandrababu Naidu had announced the BC leader would be the Chief Minister after the 2014 elections. But the TDP won only 15 seats.
Unable to become chief minister, Mr Krishnaiah expected that he would at least be made the party's floor leader in the Legislative Assembly. However, Mr Naidu opted for Errabelli Dayakar Rao, who switched to the TRS later.
This upset Mr Krishnaiah, who has stayed away from party activities since then.
Even after 12 TDP MLAs joined the TRS and another TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy joined the Congress, Mr Krishnaiah continued with the TDP along with Sattupalli MLA, Sandra Venkata Veeraiah. But he is now under pressure from various BC associations to quit the TDP.
Though TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao invited Mr Krishnaiah to join the TRS, he refused.
Mr Krishnaiah confirmed his move to the Congress: “It is true that the Congress high command has invited me to join the party. Representatives of Rahul Gandhi directly held talks and invited me to join the party. I will soon join the Congress.”
