Hyderabad: Former Congress minister and MLC T Jeevan Reddy joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the presence of party chief and Gajwel MLA K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) at the “BRS Praja Ashirwada Sabha” held in Jagtial on Monday, April 20.

Addressing the public meeting, KCR appointed Jeevan Reddy as the party’s general secretary with immediate effect and promised to give him a prominent position if BRS came to power.

KCR urged Jeevan Reddy to concentrate on Adilabad, Nizamabad and other neighbouring districts, leaving the fight in Jagtial to his followers in the constituency.

“When we met a few days ago, I told Jeevan Reddy that we would work like brothers in a family, like pillars of the party,” he said, assuring that BRS will come to power by 100 per cent.

He praised the veteran politician as a leader with a large following not just in Jagtial, but also in Choppadandi, Dharmapuri, Koratla, Peddapalli and other constituencies.

The move, which came on expected lines, has become inevitable for Jeevan Reddy, who had declared an all-out war against Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

Last week, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao urged him to join forces with the BRS. The following day Reddy went to meet KCR at his farmhouse in Erravalli village and discussed politics.

For the past couple of years, Jeevan Reddy has been disgruntled with the Congress, the party he served for four decades. He alleged that Jagtial BRS MLA M Sanjay Kumar was interfering with the Congress’s affairs in the constituency, though he was still officially in the BRS.

Jeevan Reddy had alleged that even in the Jagtial municipal elections, Sanjay Kumar called the shots in selecting the Congress’s candidates, the municipal chairperson and the vice-chairperson.

He wrote to the Congress’s high command complaining about the humiliation he was being subjected to within the party. He also resigned to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) membership, along with the primary membership of that grand old party. He held a get-together with his followers in Jagtial, where he declared to fight against Revanth Reddy, and sought the support of his followers.