In a surprise midnight development, six BRS MLCs joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at his residence on Thursday, providing a strategic boost to the ruling party in the Upper House, where it previously had only six MLCs.
The BRS suffered a significant setback with the defection of MLCs Dande Vittal, Bhanu Prasad, B. Dayanand, Prabhakar Rao, Egge Mallesham, and Basavaraju Saraiah.
The MLCs joined the Congress shortly after Revanth Reddy returned from Delhi on Thursday night.
With this move, the Congress’ strength in the 40-member Legislative Council has increased to 12, with two vacancies remaining.
The Upper House also includes one MLC each from the MIM and the BJP, and two independents. The remaining 20 MLCs are with the BRS.
The Congress needs a majority in the Council to pass new legislation, including the ROR Act and the law replacing Rythu Bandhu with Rythu Bharosa, among others.
Read More: Midnight Drama: Six BRS MLCs Join Congress