Hyderabad: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday welcomed Telugu Desam former leader Revanth Reddy and 18 of his associates into the Congress fold at his residence in New Delhi. AICC secretary (in-charge) R.C. Kuntia, TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and others were present on the occasion.

Later, Mr Revanth Reddy told reporters at the AICC headquarters that the TRS had promised “Bangaru Telangana” before coming to power 3.5 years ago, but failed to live up to its promises.

He said that the Congress was responsible for the formation of Telangana and it alone could bring prosperity and development to the state.

Mr Revanth Reddy said that he hoped the Congress would sweep the 2019 polls and bring the people of Telangana much-needed relief. He said that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had failed to address the problems of unemployment and farmers suicides in Telangana.

Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy said that Mr Gandhi, who wished to revive and rejuvenate the party before the upcoming polls, was impressed with the migration of leaders from the TD and the TRS to the Congress.