Praja Rajyam to merge with Congress on Aug 20

The Praja Rajyam Party will officially merge with the Congress on August 20, according to PRP president Chiranjeevi.

"We decided to officially merge Praja Rajyam with Congress on August 20, the birth anniversary of Rajeev Gandhi. On August 20 and 21, senior party leaders will take Congress party membership at Gandhi Bhavan," Chiranjeevi told reporters.

Chiranjeevi was earlier scheduled to meet All India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi between August 7 and August 10, to formally take primary membership of the Congress.

Since Gandhi is undergoing treatment in the United States, the PRP chief is expected to take Congress membership from Rahul Gandhi.

The PRP, which has 18 seats in the 294-seat state assembly, had announced the merger plans in February.

The PRP has already technically merged with the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh, even though a public meeting could not be organised to formalise the amalgamation.

The current political uncertainty in the state over the bifurcation issue has jeopardised Chiranjeevi's plans to organise a grand meeting with Sonia or Rahul Gandhi to formalise the merger.