Former minister and senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader from Khammam Tummala Nageshwar Rao has finally made up his mind to quit the party and join the Congress next week.
According to sources, Tummala had finalised the talks with the Congress state leadership and conveyed his inclination to join the party.
He will leave for New Delhi on September 6 and join the Congress in the presence of MP Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, sources said.
Tummala has been upset ever since he was denied the BRS party ticket by party president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao when the latter announced the list of candidates for 115 seats on August 21.
While the former minister was expecting the party ticket from Palair assembly constituency, the BRS chief retained sitting MLA Kandada Upender Reddy, who had defected from the Congress to the BRS.
Though KCR sent Khammam MP Nama Nageshwar Rao as an emissary to hold talks with Tummala and convince him to stay back in the party, the latter was unrelenting.
After holding several consultations with the party rank and file, he has decided to join the Congress party following the footsteps of Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.
The political situation in Khammam district once again took centre stage as Tummala’s move will impact political equations in assembly constituencies of Khammam, Sattupalli, Kothagudem and Aswaraopeta, which have a high concentration of the ‘Kamma’ population.
Sources said that the Congress party had agreed to field Tummala from Palair assembly segment in the elections.
In the meantime, the BRS rebelts Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao and Rekha Naik are also holding parleys with the PCC leaders for joining the Congress party along with Nageshwara Rao.