Telangana: KCR Rewards Kaushik Reddy With TRS MLC Seat 10 Days After Congress Expels Him

The Congress leadership had on July 12 issued a show-cause notice to Kaushik after audio surfaced in which he claimed that he will contest the Huzurabad by-election on the TRS ticket

Huzurabad By-Election

Hyderabad: The Telangana cabinet on Sunday decided to nominate P Kaushik Reddy to the state Legislative Council, barely 10 days after he joined the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, decided to recommend to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to nominate Kaushik Reddy to the upper house of the state legislature.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, the relevant file has been sent to Raj Bhavan for approval. Kaushik Reddy had joined the TRS on July 21, a week after he was expelled by the Congress party for anti-party activities. He was a state Congress Secretary and party incharge for Huzurabad constituency.

The Congress leadership had on July 12 issued a show-cause notice to him after audio surfaced in which he claimed that he will contest the by-election to Huzurabad Assembly constituency on the TRS ticket.

The audio of a telephonic conversation between Kaushik Reddy and a TRS worker went viral. Claiming that he will be the TRS candidate in Huzurabad, he asked the TRS worker to mobilise party workers who can work for him and offered them money. The audio had surfaced a few days after Kaushik Reddy's meeting with TRS Working President and state minister KT Rama Rao at a function.

Hours after he was issued a show-cause notice for indulging in anti-party activities, Kaushik Reddy announced resignation from the primary membership of the party. The state Congress leadership, however, announced that it expelled Reddy from the party.

Kaushik Reddy, a former cricketer, had unsuccessfully contested as a Congress candidate from Huzurabad in the 2018 Assembly elections. The Assembly seat fell vacant following the resignation of former minister E. Rajender, who recently quit the TRS to join the BJP. The by-election is likely to be conducted soon.