Hyderabad: Senior Telangana leader and former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP D. Srinivas returned to the Congress party on Sunday after leaving it nearly nine years ago.

Srinivas, accompanied by his son Dharampuri Sanjay, officially joined the Congress in the presence of Telangana Congress in-charge Manikrao Thakare, state Congress leader Revanth Reddy, and other key members.

Srinivas’ other son, D. Arvind, is a BJP MP representing Nizamabad. Srinivas arrived at Gandhi Bhavan, the state Congress party headquarters, using a wheelchair.

Senior leaders such as K. Jana Reddy, Renuka Chowdary, and Uttam Kumar Reddy welcomed the former Rajya Sabha member back into the Congress.

This return marks a significant moment for Srinivas, who led the Congress to victory in the undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004.

He has twice served as the head of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and was a minister in the Rajasekhara Reddy cabinet.

In 2014, Srinivas switched to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) after the party formed the first government in the newly created state of Telangana.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao rewarded him with the position of special advisor to the government and later appointed him as a Rajya Sabha member in 2016.

However, before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Srinivas faced accusations of anti-party activities.

KCR’s daughter K. Kavitha, running for re-election in the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, and other TRS leaders accused Srinivas of working against the party by supporting his son D. Arvind, a BJP member. As a result, Kavitha lost the election to Arvind.

Despite denying the allegations and attempting to meet KCR to clarify his position, Srinivas was not granted a meeting and remained politically inactive.

In December 2021, Srinivas met with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who reportedly approved his return to the party.

However, Srinivas’ re-entry to Congress was delayed due to health issues.