By Express News Service
HYDERABAD: While Congress leaders are taking vociferous vows to defeat the TRS in the next Assembly polls, the ruling party has quietly revived its ‘Operation Akarsh’ to weaken the grand-old party further. Giving a severe jolt to the Congress, K Damodar Reddy, MLC and close aide of former minister D K Aruna in the erstwhile united Mahbubnagar district, is expected to join the ruling party in the presence of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao here on Saturday.
Reddy dropped hints in this regard on Friday on a day when all the Congress senior leaders led by K Jana Reddy and N Uttam Kumar Reddy brainstormed on how to effectively counter the strategies of the TRS leadership in the run-up to the 2019 polls. Former MLA Edma Krishna Reddy and some other key Congress workers in the district are also likely to cross over to the ruling party along with Damodar Reddy.
Damodar Reddy had earlier unsuccessfully contested against Nagam Janardhan Reddy as Congress candidate from Nagarkurnool when the latter was in the TDP in the 1999, 2004 and 2009 Assembly polls. Nagam’s induction into the Congress has made Damodar to decide to quit the Congress. Prior to 2000 Damodar had worked under the leadership of Nagam in the TDP.
Interestingly, Aruna skipped the Friday meeting of Congress leaders, giving scope to speculation that she too might join the ruling party. Aruna already expressed her dissatisfaction over the way Damodar Reddy’s objections were ignored with regard to Nagam’s induction into the grand-old party. Though Aruna has been denying the possibility of her cross over to the ruling party, Damodar’ Reddy’s latest decision to become member of the pink party has renewed the debate on the likelihood of Aruna’s family switching over to the ruling party in the days to come.
Earlier, Aruna had taken Damodar Reddy to Delhi and urged the AICC high command not to permit the TPCC chief Uttam to induct Nagam into the Congress. At that time, Damodar Reddy had alleged that former Union minister S Jaipal Reddy was behind the entry of Nagam into the Congress in order to weaken the Aruna’s group in the district.
