As Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is all set to enter Telangana the Congress has been left red faced after its Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy was caught on camera saying Congress won’t win the Munugode bypoll slated for 3 November. A viral video of the MP interacting with Congress supporters in Australia where he is on tour surfaced on Saturday.
The Munugode Assembly seat was held by Venkat Reddy’s brother, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who resigned as Congress MLA and joined the BJP leading to the bypoll. The Bhongir MP stayed away from campaigning for either party, but had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with his brother.
Meanwhile, the Congress, desperate to regain the lost ground, has put every resource in Munugode, but is unlikely to hold on to its seat.
In the video that went viral, Venkat Reddy was heard saying: “Congress won’t win Munugode why should I campaign for an election lost? He will win,” referring to his brother.
He said that with both ruling parties (the TRS in the state and the BJP at Centre) in the fray Congress does not seem to stand a chance in the election. He also complained about the current Congress chief A Revanth Reddy and the financial strain faced by the party and added that he had been in politics for 25 years and had won elections five times and it was “enough” for him.
Yesterday, in a leaked audio clip, the Bhongir MP was heard soliciting votes for his brother, the BJP candidate Rajagopal Reddy. The TRS which was hoping that the Congress will manage to retain its vote bank so that its votes do not fall in BJP’s kitty, was obviously perturbed. In a tweet addressed to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, TRS social media convener Dinesh Chowdary posted the audio clip with a caption: “Listen to your party star campaigner and MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy calling leaders and asking them to vote for BJP candidate.”