In a significant political development, Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy, who had left the Congress party in 2022 to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has announced his return to the Congress ahead of the crucial Telangana Assembly polls. This move is seen as a setback for the BJP, as Reddy had unsuccessfully contested on the saffron party’s ticket in the Munugode assembly by-election last year.
Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy took to social media to make the announcement, stating, “As per the opinion of my followers and supporters, I decided to join the Congress party hoping that I have the blessings of all my supporters.”
Reddy’s return to the Congress comes shortly after his name was notably absent from the BJP’s initial list of candidates for the Telangana Assembly polls. Notably, Raj Gopal Reddy had won the Munugode assembly constituency in 2018 as a Congress candidate. However, he later quit the Congress and resigned as an MLA in August 2022 to join the BJP.
In the subsequent Munugode assembly by-poll in October 2022, Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy contested on a BJP ticket but lost to BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) candidate K Prabhakar Reddy by a margin of 10,309 votes.
Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy has cited his commitment to defeating the K. Chandrashekar Rao government in Telangana as the reason for his back-and-forth between the Congress and the BJP. He believes that the “people’s mood is in favor of the Congress.”
It is worth noting that the shifting allegiance of Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy has resulted in one of the most expensive election processes in India. His departure from Congress triggered a by-election in Munugode, which witnessed massive spending by the parties to woo voters. Cash amounting to ₹8 crore and 5,000 liters of liquor were seized in the run-up to the election. Moreover, the Munugode by-poll was noted for being one of the most-watched elections in the country, with 48 CCTV cameras monitoring the polling process, which was webcast across 298 police stations.
Notably, Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy’s brother, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, is a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Bhuvanagiri for the Congress party.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on October 9 that the Telangana Assembly polls are scheduled to be held on November 30, with the counting of votes set for December 3. The upcoming assembly election in Telangana is expected to be a triangular contest, featuring the BJP, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the Congress.
In the previous Assembly election held in 2018, BRS secured a significant victory by winning 88 out of the 119 seats and maintaining a dominant vote share of 47.4%. The Congress secured 19 seats and had a vote share of 28.7%. The upcoming polls will be closely watched to see if there are any significant shifts in the political landscape of Telangana.