On May 7, a series of attacks and counterattacks broke out between cadres of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karimnagar, Huzurabad and Sircilla. The clashes were triggered by drug consumption allegations and counter-allegations between the two parties. The episode also revived the recent farmhouse drug party case involving leaders of BRS and the Telugu Desam Party, making drugs a focal point for political attacks.
The trouble began when Padi Kaushik Reddy, BRS MLA from Huzurabad, held a press conference in Karimnagar and alleged that Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Minister of State for Home Affairs, was a drug user and should be tested for drugs. He also body-shamed the Union minister, claiming his baldness was a result of drug use. The BRS MLA's attack was a retaliation to Bandi Sanjay's earlier demand that K.T. Rama Rao, the BRS working president, must undergo a drug test. Karimnagar is a BJP stronghold and Bandi Sanjay's Lok Sabha constituency. The Karimnagar Municipal Corporation is one of only two urban local bodies the party has won in Telangana.
Tension Erupt in #Karimnagar, #Telangana, after supporters of #BJP attack the vehicle of #BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy (#PadiKaushikReddy) and the camp office of Karimnagar BRS MLA Gangula Kamlakar Reddy, over #Drug allegations made by @KaushikReddyBRS , against Union Minister of… pic.twitter.com/RfCcxfAsqd
— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy) May 7, 2026
Immediately after the press meet, a group of BJP cadres attacked the BRS office where Kaushik Reddy had addressed the media. Police and the MLA's personal security personnel locked him inside a room to shield him from the mob. Local media reports indicated that the BJP cadres would have attacked the MLA directly had they managed to breach the police cordon. Kaushik Reddy questioned why the police failed to prevent the vandalism and alleged that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar had colluded to orchestrate the attack.
K.T. Rama Rao condemned the BJP's assault on his party's MLA.
In Huzurabad—Kaushik Reddy's constituency—BJP cadres armed with sticks attempted to storm the MLA's office. BRS workers tried to repel them, and a brief clash followed before police intervened and arrested the BJP cadres. In Sircilla—K.T. Rama Rao's constituency— BRS cadres attempted to disrupt Bandi Sanjay Kumar's campaign to mobilise people for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting in Hyderabad on May 10. Police swiftly took them into custody.
The drug allegations trace back to a farmhouse drug party case filed by the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement—popularly known as the EAGLE force—on March 14. Pilot Rohit Reddy, former BRS MLA and close aide to K.T. Rama Rao and TDP MP Putta Mahesh Kumar Yadav, along with nine others, were arrested. While the MP secured immediate station bail, Rohit Reddy was granted bail only recently. Neither BRS nor TDP has taken any action against their respective leaders.
When the farmhouse drug case surfaced, TPCC leader B. Mahesh Kumar Goud alleged that Rohit Reddy and K.T. Rama Rao habitually consumed drugs and demanded that the BRS working president undergo a drug test to send a positive message to the youth. Several Congress MLAs echoed the demand, calling for all legislators and parliamentarians to be tested. Despite initially agreeing to the test, Rama Rao backed out later.
With the recent clashes, BRS appears to have signalled that it will not back down in disputes with either Congress or BJP.
The BJP has hit back hard, with Bandi Sanjay endorsing his supporters' actions. Party state president N. Ramachandra Rao condemned the BRS MLA's personal attacks, while BJP youth leader P.M. Sai Prasad warned that "karma will strike back hard"—a pointed reference to the farmhouse drug party case.
