The action shifted to Hyderabad on Friday morning as Congress and JD (S) MLAs from Karnataka stepped into the capital of Telangana. Though there was news that Kochi and Puducherry were considered as favourable destinations, the top leadership of the two parties chose Hyderabad to keep their flock together.
In the early hours of Friday, the MLAs entered Telangana in three private AC buses, not before taking different routes to reach the city. After travelling more than 700 km, the buses reached the city around 8 am. The private bus operator, Orange Travels, is owned by a Telangana-based businessman, who is known to be close to the ruling TRS party.
The legislators, who are being protected from being poached by the BJP in the aftermath of the Karnataka elections and a hung assembly, are being put up in four different properties in Hyderabad and its outskirts.
One batch of MLAs are staying at Park Hyatt hotel in Banjara Hills, which is owned by Congress senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP, T. Subbarami Reddy. It is understood that he is facilitating the stay of the Karnataka MLAs. Telangana Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy, former Congress MP Madhu Yashki Gowd and other senior leaders have been entrusted with the responsibility of making arrangements in Hyderabad. However, many of the senior congress leaders from the state were kept in the dark regarding the plans to shift the MLAs to Hyderabad.
It is learnt that popular actor Prakash Raj is hosting around a dozen JD(S) MLAs in his farmhouse in Shadnagar, which is around 50 km from the city. The rest of the legislators are in Taj Krishna Hotel and Golkonda resort.
According to Congress sources, this can be a temporary arrangement and there is a possibility that the leaders from the neighbouring state can be moved to other destination to prevent access to outsiders. Since there is an IPL match on Saturday, the Hyderabad team is expected to stay in Park Hyatt and local congress leaders want to ensure that their guests are not ‘disturbed’.
Security has been beefed up in the hotels and resorts where the leaders are staying.
The decision of the new alliance to come to Hyderabad seems to have been made owing to the support from both the ruling and the opposition parties in Telangana. While the ruling TRS has openly supported JD(S) before elections, the main opposition party in the newly bifurcated state is Congress.