TRS set to embarrass BJP ahead national executive meeting

Ahead of the BJP's national executive meeting in the city, the TRS is going all out to embarrass the saffron party.

After the #ByeByeModi banners were put up near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sunday public rally venue, the TRS managed to attract four BJP corporators of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to its side.

The defected corporators Banoth Sujatha Naik (Hasthinapuram), Podavu Archana Prakash (Rajendranagar), Derangula Venkatesh (Jubilee Hills), and Sunita Prakash Goud (Adikmet), were welcomed into the TRS with the party's pink stole by working president KT Rama Rao.'

Read | Ahead of crucial BJP meet, 'Bye Bye Modi' and 'Adios KCR' claim top spots on Hyderabad streets

In the December 2020 GHMC polls, the BJP's tally in the 150 seated civic body had gone up from four to 48, delivering a body blow to the TRS whose councilor count fell to 56 from 99.

A TRS functionary described the switchover now as a “big shock to BJP in Telangana a day before their national executive meeting in Hyderabad.”

However, T-BJP leaders said that the TRS has been trying to poach its corporators for some time now and had actually targeted a bigger number.

The four corporators who jumped ship were in the BJP GHMC corporators group that PM Modi had interacted with in New Delhi in June first week. The meeting, party sources said, was planned after sensing the TRS's intentions, in order to instill confidence in them.

“Our corporators were lured with money, threatened with cases by the TRS,” T-BJP chief Bandi Sanjay fumed on Friday.

The desertions however jolted the party which has so far managed to keep its flock intact in Telangana. Even as several Congress and TDP legislators joined the ruling side in the previous and present term of the state assembly, no BJP legislator ditched the party. In fact, the BJP MLA count which fell from five in 2014 to one in 2018, improved to three in the last three years, having wrested the TRS held seats.

The defections, even though of corporator level, are being taken seriously by the TBJP since they are from Hyderabad, the capital city where the party has high hopes in the 2023 assembly polls. A corporator position, with strong public connect, is seen as the stepping stone to becoming a state legislator.

“These four corporators, with business etc interests, had joined BJP midway. The ideologically committed leaders are standing strongly with us. In any case, there will be introspection,” Prakash Reddy, BJP Telangana state secretary told DH.

In addition, Tandur municipality BJP floor leader Sinduja Goud also joined the TRS on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in a move that would remind the public about the alleged misdeeds of its former minister Eatala Rajender, now a BJP MLA, the TRS government on Wednesday began restoring the assigned lands in Medak district to the original BC, SC allottees. About 85 acres were reportedly grabbed for a Eatala family run hatcheries unit, when he was in the K Chandrasekhar Rao cabinet.