Palakurthi: Congress Leaders Join BRS, Local Rifts Deepen

Several local Congress leaders in the Palakurthi Assembly constituency have defected to the BRS, underscoring growing political flux in the erstwhile Warangal region.

In the latest development, Palakurthi Congress Mahila President Tara Hastam resigned from the Congress and formally joined the BRS in the presence of former minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao.

OU leader Prithvi Reddy, along with about 120 Congress workers from Nirmala village in Devaruppula mandal, also switched allegiance to the BRS at the same event.

Local footage and party releases show the new entrants being welcomed into the BRS fold.

The defections come against a backdrop of frequent local-level realignments in Palakurthi. Over the past year there have been multiple rounds of crossovers and counter-crossovers between the BRS and the Congress cadres in the area, and public disagreements among factional leaders - including clashes over local issues such as the Telangana Thalli statue - have contributed to the instability.

Party insiders said that the new entrants cited dissatisfaction with the Congress in-charge Hanumandla Jhansi Reddy's leadership and management style as a key reason for leaving, and expressed confidence in the BRS's development agenda for the constituency. The political controversy surrounding Jhansi Reddy - who has faced legal scrutiny over alleged land-purchase irregularities - has heightened tensions within the local Congress unit.

Errabelli Dayakar Rao, a veteran leader and former minister with deep roots in Palakurthi, played a visible role in welcoming the defectors. Analysts say Errabelli's presence adds political weight to the BRS' outreach in the area and could influence further local shifts ahead of upcoming local-body elections.

For context, Palakurthi has been a battleground of competing local factions rather than a stable two-party stronghold. Continued defections could weaken the Congress's grassroots network in the constituency and provide the BRS with organisational gains - particularly if more local leaders and ward-level workers follow suit. Observers say both parties will now focus on damage-control and voter outreach to shore up their positions ahead of the local polls.