Sabitha Indra Reddy to dump Rahul Gandhi, joins TRS

The Congress in Telangana was left dumbfounded on Sunday over the possibility of senior party leader and Maheswaram MLA Sabitha Indra Reddy joining the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

Sabitha Indra Reddy set off intense speculation about her plans to join the TRS after she, accompanied by her son Karthik Reddy, met with TRS working president KT Rama Rao. They later called on Nizamabad MP K Kavitha.

The mother-son duo met KT Rama Rao at the residence of AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asasuddin Owaisi in Mylardevpally. Though there was speculation over the possibility of them joining the ruling party, their meeting with TRS leaders on Sunday, is learnt to have come as a huge shock to the Congress.

It was only on Saturday evening that Sabitha Indra Reddy welcomed Congress national president Rahul Gandhi and party leaders from Telangana at a public meeting in Shamshabad. “None of us expected that she would do something like this the very next day,” a party leader said.

It may be recalled that Karthik Reddy had been upset with the State Congress leadership after he was denied the party nomination from Rajendranagar Assembly constituency in the December elections.

In fact, party sources said Congress leadership is yet to recover from Nakrekal MLA Chirumarthi Lingaiah’s announcement of leaving the Congress and joining the TRS on Saturday. At the



Congress Legislature Party meeting on March 3, party sources said it was Lingaiah who sought the passing of a resolution by the CLP calling for tough action against leaders leaving Congress to join other political parties. Party leaders are still said to be reeling from shock on how Lingaiah, after asking for such action, announced barely a week later, that he was leaving it.

Even more worrisome for the Congress in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections is what appears to be a tenous hold of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee over its MLAs in the State. It may be recalled that after the same CLP meeting, Munogode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy said he sought a change in the State party leadership as the current leaders failed to lead Congress effectively in the last Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that when TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy reached out to Sabitha Indra Reddy on phone after she met with TRS leaders, the MLA from Maheshwaram is learnt to have declined a request from Uttam Kumar Reddy for a meeting at her residence to talk things over. She reportedly told the TPCC president that she would let him know when he can meet with her as she was busy.

On Sunday evening, Uttam Kumar Reddy, Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and a few other senior party leaders met to discuss the latest developments.