Unease in Congress as migrations from BRS come to a halt

HYDERABAD: Even as a sense of unease prevails among the BRS MLAs who joined the Congress as to when they would be merged into the CLP, the pink party leadership is trying to prevent further damage by protecting those who it suspects might jump the ship when the opportune time arrives.

For the last fortnight, there has been a lull in onboarding more BRS MLAs.

During the recent Assembly session, many Congress leaders claimed that several BRS legislators would soon join the grand old party and that the BRSLP would be merged into the Congress. However, no such development has taken place so far.

Meanwhile, the Telangana High Court has reserved its verdict on the disqualification of three BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress.

As the court proceedings continue, the Congress is feeling insecure over how it could protect the BRS MLAs who joined its fold. If the party fails to win over enough number of BRS MLAs to effect a merger into the CLP, what would be the fate of the pink party legislators who joined its ranks after the 2023 elections.

The BRS MLAs, who the Congress was confident would change their plumes, seem to be feeling more comfortable where they are at present.

As Sravana maasam, which is considered an auspicious month, began on August 6, it was hoped they would join the Congress, but the “marked” BRS MLAs seem to be having second thoughts now. On the other hand, much to the consternation of the Congress leaders, the BRS leadership is trying to onboard defected MLAs back into the party.

This apart, the BRS leadership is taking a tough stand against defections by making it clear that it would press for disqualification of those who change horses midstream. This has thrown cold water at them. The BRS has said that it would fight legally, if necessary even moving the Supreme Court for action against turncoats.

The ruling Congress is trying to convince itself that the high court verdict would not go against them since it is the Speaker and not the courts who could disqualify an MLA. As there is also no clarity on when the Cabinet expansion would take place, retaining the BRS MLAs or spiriting away new ones is becoming difficult.

The ruling party’s Madiga MLAs and a few aspirants are putting pressure on the Congress leadership to include them in the state Cabinet. Senior MLAs who have not been accommodated in the Cabinet as per the district quota are also seeking their pound of flesh under the guise of social justice.

The BRS MLAs, who are under pressure to join the ruling Congress, are keenly watching which way the high court verdict would go. They do not want to make a hasty decision and burn their fingers. They are also wondering if the talk of merger of the BRS in the BJP would happen and if it does, they might be in for a good future.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to return to Hyderabad from his tour of the US on August 13. He would take stock of the situation after his arrival. He would also get a lowdown from his core team on why seniors in the party were not showing interest in landing more BRS MLAs and why he had to do it all by himself.