Hyderabad, March (IANS) In a huge blow to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), its candidate for Telangana's Warangal Lok Sabha constituency, Dr Kadiyam Kavya, has decided to pull out from the contest.

In a letter to BRS President and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday, she said she decided to withdraw from the contest.

Kavya, daughter of senior BRS leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari, wrote that recent media reports about party leaders regarding allegations of corruption, encroachments, and phone tapping and liquor scams have damaged the party’s image.

She also mentioned that the lack of coordination and cooperation among BRS leaders in the district caused more damage to the party.

While thanking KCR for giving her an opportunity by naming her as the party candidate, she explained the reasons for her decision to withdraw from the contest.

The BRS had decided to field Kavya after denying the ticket to sitting MP Pasunuri Dayakar. Peeved over this, Dayakar has joined the Congress.

Dayakar was elected in 2015 and 2019 from Warangal, a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes.

The latest blow for the BRS came after a series of defections by party leaders including five sitting MPs and a sitting MLA to either the Congress or the BJP since it lost power about four months ago.