Hyderabad: Former MLA and Congress leader Vanteru Pratap Reddy, who contested against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao from Gajwel in the recent Telangana state Assembly elections, has decided to join the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. According to TRS sources, he is joining the TRS on Friday in the presence of the Chief Minister.
Mr Pratap Reddy is fond of changing parties. In the 2014 assembly elections he was the Telugu Desam candidate from Gajwel and had lost to Mr Rao. He tried his luck from the Congress party this time, but when that too did not work he has decided to change parties once again.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, former MLA T. Narasa Reddy was the Congress candidate from Gajwel against Mr Rao and after he was defeated, he had joined the TRS.
During the election campaign in December, Mr Pratap Reddy had alleged that then irrigation minister and the Chief Minister’s nephew, T. Harish Rao, was in regular touch with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and may join the Congress any time. Mr Harish Rao, he alleged, had called him from a private number and asked him to defeat Mr Rao and even expressed his willingness to extend the required “financial assistance”.
Mr Harish Rao had denied these allegations and challenged Mr Pratap Reddy to prove them.
Now, barely a month after the Assembly results, Mr Mr Pratap Reddy has decided to join the winning TRS.
There is speculation in TRS circles that Mr Pratap Reddy has been promised a party ticket to contest from Gajwel once Mr Rao resigns. Sources said that Mr Pratap Reddy wants to contest the Medak Lok Sabha seat in the forthcoming general election so as to play a key role in national politics to form the Federal Front. If he wins the seat he will have to resign as MLA and in the by-election in Gajwel, Mr Pratap Reddy will be given the TRS ticket. Another version is that the TRS leadership has promised Mr Pratap Reddy an MLC seat.
