Serilingampally MLA Arikepudi Gandhi joined ruling Congress party on Saturday. With Gandhi’s defection, the total number of BRS MLAs joining Congress rose to 9.

Arikepudi Gandhi joined Congress at CM Revanth Reddy’s residence in Jubilee Hills. Along with MLA Gandhi, Serilingampally corporator Nagendar Yadav, Miyapur corporator Uppalapati Srikant, Chandanagar corporator Manjula, Hydernagar corporator Narne Srinivas joined Congress.

While the defection of BRS MLA and corporators to ruling Congress is highly debatable, it points towards rise of numbers for ruling Congress in not just Telangana Assembly but also in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). These joinings will further weaken KCR’s BRS.

Arikepudi Gandhi is a three-time MLA from Serilingampally constituency. He won as MLA first time in 2014 as TDP candidate. He shifted loyalties from TDP to then TRS later. Now once again he has shifted loyalties to ruling Congress party, betraying BRS.

DNR