Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy Quits BJP, To Join Congress

In a jolt to the BJP, former MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy today resigned from the party.

In a statement, Reddy said that he was going to join the Congress soon.

He added that his ambition of liberating Telangana from the misrule of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and family would be fulfilled in the next five weeks with this change of affiliation.

"I had resigned as Munugodu MLA and from the Congress, and had joined the BJP, as I felt that the BJP had the power to put an end to KCR's rule. With the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nadda in the by-election for the Munugodu Assembly seat at the end of October last year, I contested as the BJP candidate and lost to the BRS. In the by-election which was fought like a battle, the BRS fielded 100 MLAs and 100 other senior leaders, and indulged in abuse of power. It won by a small margin and lost morally," he added, and thanked all the BJP leaders, workers and well-wishers who had tried for his victory in the Munugodu by-election.

He said that the political equations in the State had changed as the demand of the people that the Centre take action against the KCR government, which was indulging in corruption, had not been fulfilled.

"The anti-incumbency in the State is at an all-time high. The 10-year-old KCR government in Telangana, which became a reality with the struggle of all the people, has been derailed by anarchic rule. It is clear that the people want change. However, the BJP, which had emerged as an alternative to the ruling BRS in Telangana a year-and-a-half ago, has suffered some setbacks in the political developments that followed, and is not seen any more as the alternative. The people of Telangana now see the Congress as the alternative. That is why I have also decided to act in accordance with the thoughts of the people of Telangana," he said.

"I am resigning from the BJP under unavoidable circumstances. I thank the BJP for giving me the opportunity to wage war against the KCR government through the Munugodu by-election. I will always be indebted to union minister Amit Shah for encouraging me to wage war against the KCR government," he said.

He added that although he was changing his party affiliation, his goal to defeat CM KCR's family and free the State from corruption and undemocratic rule would remain the same.