BRS netas pining for switch to Congress soon?

Hyderabad: The outcome of Lok Sabha elections against the BRS is likely to weaken the party further as the party failed to get even a single MP seat and the party leaders are now worried the sitting MLAs, MLCs and some senior leaders may take a decision on leaving the party.

The demand to poach the BRS leaders will be more as the Congress and BJP emerged strong in the state in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has already started poaching the BRS MLAs and the chances of luring the BRS leaders by BJP are bright. Already, some of the BRS MLAs have shifted loyalties by joining the Congress party and there are speculations that a few more may be following suit in the coming days. The party has lost two elections within a span of six months and now it has no representation in Lok Sabha.

The party had recently lost the Assembly elections and was restricted to 39 seats in the 119-member Assembly. Hyderabad was the face-saver for the party as it had won a majority of the constituencies in the GHMC limits. However, the defeat of the candidates in all the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Greater Hyderabad is likely to affect the morale of the MLAs who have won. Another worrying factor is that the party leaders who contested have lost deposits. The Secunderabad MLA T Padma Rao Goud had won by securing over 78,000 votes during the Assembly elections but when he contested the Lok Sabha elections, he got little over 28,000 votes from the segment he represents. The downfall in the votes secured is likely to impact the morale of the leaders even in other constituencies.

BRS leaders said that the party had to face a setback in the Lok Sabha elections after many of the sitting MPs deserted at a wrong time. MPs like Venkatesh Netakani, G Ranjith Reddy, BB Patil, P Ramulu left the BRS and favoured the national parties. Now the party leaders fear that some more leaders may follow suit after the dismal performance.