Khammam is becoming an important area for the Congress and the BRS. There is a fierce competition for the 10 Assembly seats in the old Khammam district. The Congress is happy about Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy joining their party, while the BRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao is trying to weaken the Congress in Khammam.
The BRS is trying to recruit strong leaders from the Congress who are against Revanth. It is not clear if the BRS will succeed in this effort.
There are speculations that KCR has convinced about a dozen Congress leaders, including two MLAs, to join the BRS. It is also rumored that Damodara Rajanarasimha might join the BRS. The ruling party claims that Rajanarasimha will join before August ends. KCR believes that if the BRS can win over important Congress leaders, not just in Khammam but also in other districts, it will weaken the Congress. The BRS claims that senior leaders like N Uttam Kumar Reddy from Nalgonda and P Sudarshan Reddy from Khammam, along with others from Mahbubnagar, Rangareddy, and Warangal districts will join them. Another name circulating is former MP Ponnam Prabhakar, who feels ignored by the Congress. The BRS is focusing on these leaders as they are weak in these constituencies.
Uttam Kumar Reddy has repeatedly denied these rumors. The Congress believes that the BRS is playing mind games and no leader will leave their party. However, the BRS leadership believes that KCR’s strategic skills will make them the ultimate winners.
