Deshpande criticises the state leadership as parties prepare for future electoral contests
HYDERABAD Bhargav Deshpande, a former president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in Telangana, has left the Congress and joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), adding a fresh point of pressure for the state Congress leadership.
Joining the BRS Deshpande joined the party on October 25 at the Hyderabad residence of BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, who welcomed him with the party’s pink scarf.
Concerns about the Congress Deshpande alleged that the Telangana unit was no longer working in step with the Congress’s national leadership. He said long-serving workers were being sidelined and argued that the party’s organisation had changed since A. Revanth Reddy joined Congress in 2017. These are Deshpande’s criticisms and have not been independently established as facts.
A long association Deshpande said he entered Congress as a teenager in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He also served twice as president of the Adilabad District Congress Committee. He said his concerns about the party’s public image and grassroots functioning had not received an adequate response.
Why the move matters The shift comes as parties look towards Graduate MLC elections and the 2028 Telangana Assembly election. The BRS may seek to use the move to strengthen its presence in Adilabad, where the BJP also has a base. The significance of Deshpande’s departure will depend in part on whether other Congress workers follow and how the parties perform in upcoming contests.