BRS Jagtial MLA Sanjay Kumar Joins Congress

The exodus of MLAs from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the Congress in Telangana continues, with BRS MLA Dr. M. Sanjay Kumar joining the ruling party on June 23. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who is also the state unit President, welcomed Sanjay into the Congress along with Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, former minister Sudershan Reddy, and Chief Minister’s advisor Vem Narender Reddy. Sanjay, re-elected from the Jagtial Assembly constituency in Nizamabad district in November 2023, is the fifth BRS MLA to defect since Congress came to power in December last year. His defection follows that of senior leader and former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, also a BRS MLA from Nizamabad district.

The BRS initially won 39 seats in the 119-member Assembly, but its strength has now reduced to 33 following the recent Secunderabad Cantonment by-election loss to the ruling party. Srinivas Reddy was the first MLA to switch loyalties after BRS’s poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, where the party failed to win any seats. Since the Assembly election defeat, BRS has lost several leaders to both Congress and the BJP, highlighting a significant shift in the political landscape of Telangana.