Hyderabad: With just 10 days left for the Legislative Council Elections, the Congress party received a massive jolt with two party MLAs migrating to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

In an announcement, MLAs Athram Sakku and R Kantha Rao shared that they will be joining the TRS to support Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

They recently met KCR and discussed the issues of the Schedule Tribes, particularly of the Adivasis with him. The Asifabad MLA and the Pinapaka legislator said that the Chief Minister assured to personally visit the tribal areas and resolve the issues.

Asserting that only KCR could resolve their issues, the duo further said they would resign their membership of the Telangana state Assembly and contest again on TRS ticket if required.

While the Congress leadership in Telangana is focusing on garnering the votes to win a seat in the Council elections from the MLA quota, the defection of the MLAs definitely comes as a major blow to the party.

Earlier on Saturday, the Telugu Desam Sathupalli legislator Sandra Venkata Veeraiah met the Chief Minister at Pragathi Bhavan. It is reported that the TDP legislator is expected to join the TRS.

A press release from the Chief Minister’s Office stated that Sandra Venkata Veeraiah met KCR with a request to release water for standing crops in Sathupalli, Wyra, Khammam, Paleru and Madhira constituencies. The Chief Minister, in response Chief Secretary SK Joshi, to ensure the immediate release of water from the Nagarjunasagar left canal to two lakh acres in Khammam district for irrigation purposes.

Meanwhile, the strength of the Congress - Telugu Desam would decline to 18 if the three legislators defect and the number is not enough to win a seat.

TRS, which proposed contesting for the fifth MLC seat on offer along with the MIM was falling short of six legislators. With three possible defections, TRS needs three more legislators and the party is confident to gain the support of more legislators in the countdown to the MLC elections.

Calling it unfair, the Congress leaders stated that the TRS was poaching their party legislators to secure a victory for the MIM under any circumstance.

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