Kadiyam Srihari Ready to Face By-Elections After Defecting to Congress from BRS

Hyderabad: Kadiyam Srihari, a former Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and one of the 10 BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) MLAs who defected to Congress last year, has expressed his readiness to face by-elections if required. He stated on Sunday that he would not shy away from contesting and would “stay put to fight” if the need for by-elections arises.

Supreme Court Decision Pending on Defection Issue

Srihari’s comments come amidst a pending petition in the Supreme Court regarding the defection of 10 BRS MLAs to Congress. The Telangana Assembly Secretary issued notices last week to these MLAs after the BRS filed petitions seeking their disqualification. The Supreme Court is set to review the matter again on February 10, focusing on disqualification pleas.

Kadiyam Srihari, along with other defected MLAs, has made it clear that he will abide by the verdict of the Supreme Court. “If by-elections are to be held, I will not run away. I will stay put to fight,” he told reporters.

BRS Defection Allegations and Call for SC Reservation

Srihari also lashed out at the BRS leadership, claiming that the ruling party had undermined democracy during its time in power by orchestrating defections. He stated that under BRS’s 10-year rule, Telangana witnessed no real development. As a Dalit leader, Srihari demanded that Scheduled Castes (SC) be granted 18% reservation, reflecting their proportion in the population.

Criticizing BRS’s Position on Delhi Election Results

Additionally, Srihari made strong remarks about BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao, accusing him of celebrating the BJP’s victory in the Delhi Assembly elections. He suggested that Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) defeat in Delhi was partly due to its alliance with the BRS. Srihari believes that a joint contest between Congress and AAP in Delhi would have resulted in victory for the opposition.

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Srihari’s Political Journey and Defection to Congress

Srihari, a seasoned politician and prominent Scheduled Caste (SC) leader, began his political career in the 1980s with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He served as a minister in both N. T. Rama Rao’s and Chandrababu Naidu’s cabinets in united Andhra Pradesh. He joined TRS (now BRS) in 2013, later becoming a Cabinet Minister in K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s government. Srihari defected to Congress in March 2022, alongside his daughter Kadiyam Kavya.

Kadiyam Kavya was subsequently elected as a Congress candidate to the Lok Sabha from Warangal. Srihari was also re-elected to the Telangana Assembly in 2023 from the Station Ghanpur constituency.

With the defection issue now in the hands of the Supreme Court, all eyes are on the upcoming hearings and potential by-elections, which could reshape the political landscape in Telangana.