Hyderabad: Things are not looking good for Telangana Congress after a video emerged showing senior Congress leader and former minister T Jeevan Reddy’s supporters removing party banners from his residence in Jagtial on Tuesday, March 24.

This development came after Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud met the veteran leader to persuade him to withdraw his decision to quit the party. Gaud was accompanied by All India Congress Secretary (AICC) Secretary Sachin Sawant and Congress Whip in the Telangana Assembly Adi Srinivas.

Mahesh Goud said that Reddy has a long political career and vast experience and the Congress can’t let him go. “Jeevan Reddy was hurt due to some decisions taken by the party. I have requested him to reconsider his decision to resign,” he said.

On Sunday, Reddy decided to resign, ending his nearly four-decade-long association with the party. He attributed his decision to what he called “growing interference” of “defected” MLAs in party affairs, and warned the High Command that it would dent the image of the Congress at the national level.

“Respect is above everything and in its absence, there is no meaning in continuing in politics,” he said.

Two days ago, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu met Reddy, but the meeting did not bring any fruitful conclusion.

The veteran Congress leader has been locked in a bitter fight with Sanjay Kumar, one of the 10 MLAs of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) who allegedly switched loyalties to the Congress party in 2024. Reddy defeated Kumar in the Jagtial constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections before the latter turned a turncoat.

Since then, Reddy has openly challenged the party leadership for inducting Kumar into the party.

Recently, Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar dismissed petitions for the disqualification of all 10 MLAs. The infighting in Jagtial was exposed when Jeevan Reddy expressed anger over the allotment of more party tickets for municipal elections to Sanjay Kumar’s group.

(With IANS inputs)