As many as 35 leaders of CM K Chandrashekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), including former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and former minister Jupally Krishna Rao, joined the Congress in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi at the AICC office in Delhi on Monday, PTI reported.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Congress chief of its Telangana unit A Revanth Reddy were also present at the meeting.
While Reddy is a former Lok Sabha MP from Khammam, Krishna Rao is a former Andhra Pradesh and Telangana minister and has been an MLA five times.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said the development was a sign that Congress would form the next government in Telangana.
"A whole host of very senior leaders in Telangana have today joined the Congress party. This is a big boost for us, a sign of how the winds of change have travelled all the way to Telangana. It's a sign that Congress will form the next government in Telangana," Shrinate said.
The leaders who jumped ship will later address a public rally in Khammam, Telangana, in the first week of July. AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is likely to be present.
The development comes ahead of Assembly elections in the state later this year.
The leaders joined the Congress days after the BRS chose to skip a meeting hosted by JD(U) supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar aimed at working on an opposition alliance.
Minister KT Rama Rao, backing his party's decision to skip the opposition meeting, emphasised that the fight against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should be based on "principal issues" and not just focus on “dislodging someone” from power.
"The fight (against the BJP) should be on principal issues before the country. Unfortunately, we are losing the plot there. We seem to be obsessed and worried about dislodging someone or putting somebody there and that should not be the agenda. The agenda should be how the basic priorities of the country have to be met," KTR said.