In a major set back to the Congress party, former Speaker of united Andhra Pradesh and senior politician K.R.Suresh Reddy announced his decision to join the Telangana Rashtra Samiti on Friday.
He is likely to join the TRS along with supporters on September 12 at the TRS Bhavan.
A day after the State Assembly was dissolved and the TRS leadership announced 105 candidates, the ruling party delivered another upset by wooing Mr. Suresh Reddy into its fold.
Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao led a delegation of senior TRS leaders comprising Advisor to Government G.Vivekananda, and former legislators Prashanth Reddy and Jeevan Reddy to the residence of Mr. Suresh Reddy. After confabulation for over an hour, Mr. Suresh Reddy and Mr. Rama Rao addressed a joint press conference on Friday noon.
Mr. Rama Rao said, “Our leader KCR has deputed us to meet Mr. Reddy and urge him to join the TRS in the interest of the devlopment of the State. He has wholeheartedly accepted our request and will join the party shortly with his supporters.”
The former AP Speaker on his part said the developmental and welfare programmes initiated by the TRS Government should not be derailed. “When the car is driven in a speedily (sic) manner, the driver should not be changed,” he said implying that the Chief Minster K. Chandrasekhar Rao should be given another chance.
Mr. Suresh Reddy said despite three generations of his family being staunch Congress loyalists, he had decided to part ways with it and join the TRS as the state’s development was moving in the right direction. “Myself and KCR were members of the Assembly from 1989 onwards and worked together. To fulfil the aspiration of the people of Telangana for creation of Telangana, I had worked directly and sometimes indirectly,” he said.
Mr. Suresh Reddy, a seasoned politician was the Speaker of AP Assembly from 2009-2014. He began his political career as Youth Congress leader and won his first election n 1989 and went on to retain the Balkonda Assembly seat in 1994, 1999 and 2004. He lost the 2009 election to Praja Rajyam Party candidate E.Anil Kumar and shifted to Armoor Assembly constituency in 2014 to lose the elections once again to Jeevan Reddy.