Hyderabad, June 24 (IANS): Telangana minister D. Sridhar Babu on Monday pacified senior Congress leader and MLC T. Jeevan Reddy, who was miffed over the party admitting BRS MLA M. Sanjay Kumar.

As news spread that Jeevan Reddy was contemplating resigning as MLC, the party leadership sent Sridhar Babu to Jagtiyal to pacify him.

After the meeting, Sridhar Babu gave an assurance that he would convey the sentiments of Jeevan Reddy to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal, state in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

Sridhar Babu called Jeevan Reddy a party elder who had been serving the organisation for four decades. He said the former minister worked hard to keep the party flag high during crises.

Visibly upset over Sunday’s development, Jeevan Reddy said he would take the issue to the notice of the high command. He said the sentiments of party workers were not taken into consideration over the joining of Sanjay Kumar. He, however, made it clear that he would abide by the party's rules and regulations.

Sridhar Babu rushed to Jagtiyal after several leaders including MLAs Adluri Lakshman Kumar and Aadi Srinivas failed to pacify Jeevan Reddy. The former minister was unhappy over Chief Minister Revanth Reddy admitting Sanjay Kumar, the MLA from Jagtiyal, into the party without even informing him.

In the November 2023 Assembly elections, Jeevan Reddy lost to Sanjay Kumar in the constituency in Nizamabad district. The Congress leader had lost to the same rival in 2018.

Sanjay Kumar, who had lost to Jeevan Reddy from the same constituency in 2014, joined the Congress on Sunday night.

The development came as a shock to Jeevan Reddy, who had already found fault with the Chief Minister for admitting senior BRS leader and former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy into the party. Jeevan Reddy had Saturday dubbed the entry of Srinivas Reddy, a MLA from Banswada, into the Congress party as political opportunism. "It is an example of political opportunism. Any political party should fight and work according to its principles," Jeevan Reddy had said.

He also questioned the need for encouraging defections from other parties when the Congress government is stable with 65 MLAs. "There is no need for the Congress party to allow defections into the party," he said.

The Chief Minister had personally visited Srinivas Reddy’s house on June 21 to invite him to join the Congress. The former minister immediately accepted the invitation and joined the party.

Sanjay Kumar was the fifth BRS MLA to switch loyalties since Congress came to power in December last year. The BRS had won 39 seats in the 119-member Assembly, but its strength has now come down to 33 as it also lost the recent Secunderabad Cantonment by-election to the ruling party.