Nizamabad: In the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict on the defection of BRS MLAs in Telangana, the people of undivided Nizamabad district are actively discussing the political shifts of their elected representatives and their impact on the respective Assembly constituencies. Notably, in the political history of undivided Nizamabad, no MLA had defected to another party prior to the formation of Telangana state.In the 2014 general elections, all nine Assembly seats in the district were won by candidates from the then TRS (now BRS). However, in the 2018 elections, eight MLAs from BRS and one from the Congress secured victories. Congress MLA Jajala Surender, who represented the Yellareddy constituency, later joined the then-ruling BRS, citing the need for constituency development. He completed his term with the party. Surender formally joined the BRS on March 27, 2020, and remained with the party through the 2023 Assembly elections, where he contested again but was defeated. In a more recent development, Banswada BRS MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy joined the Congress on June 21, 2024. Of the two BRS MLAs in the district at the time, Srinivas Reddy’s defection marked a significant political shift. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy personally visited Srinivas Reddy’s residence to welcome him into the Congress. Pocharam Srinivas Reddy began his political career with the Congress in 1976 and later served with the Telugu Desam and the BRS. Now, in the final phase of his political journey, he has returned to the Congress, aiming to continue developmental work on a large scale in the Banswada constituency. He has also been appointed as Cabinet-rank adviser on agriculture in the state government. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Ramesh, a resident of Banswada, said that people are satisfied with the continued development following Srinivas Reddy’s return to Congress. “Usually, people are disappointed when an MLA changes party after winning. Some MLAs take advantage of loopholes in the rules and frequently switch allegiances,” he said. However, he added, “The Congress government is seen as inclusive, and public disappointment over such defections is comparatively less.”
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