Renowned social activist Gade Innaiah predicted that Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy would soon become Eknath Shinde. In an interview on a YouTube channel, Innaiah disclosed that Reddy had entered into a pact with the BJP before the elections.
The social activist said that Ponguleti promised to join the party after assisting in dethroning KCR by aligning with the Congress. Innaiah remarked that Ponguleti would join the BJP along with his group of MLAs after the Lok Sabha polls.
It is rumored that almost all the Congress legislators in Khammam district, except one or two, and a few MLAs in other districts are loyalists of Ponguleti.