In a big shock to the Congress ahead of the by-election in the Dubbaka constituency, many of its leaders jumped over to the ruling TRS today.
Komatireddy Venkata Narsinha Reddy, Bompally Narsimha Rao and their followers joined the TRS in a ceremony presided over by finance minister T Harish Rao at a campaign program in Dubbaka.
Speaking on the occasion, Rao thanked the Congress leaders for their decision to support the TRS candidate Sujatha in the by-election.
He also slammed TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy for terming Sujatha incompetent to be an MLA. KCR had selected her to serve the constituency as she was noted for her participation in the previous election campaign, and since she would continue Ramalinga Reddy's ideals to serve the constituency, he said.
Rao also lashed out at the Congress and the BJP leadership for coming to Dubbaka only during the elections and making false charges.
He asked Uttam Kumar Reddy whether any Congress-ruled states including Punjab, Kerala and Rajasthan were implementing welfare schemes like Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak, under which the KCR government had offered financial support to 7 lakh poor families.
filed in:T Harish Rao, TRS, Party Defections, Dubbaka, By-Elections, Elections