On Friday, Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, the former Chief Minister, and Congress leader joined the BJP in the presence of Prahlad Joshi, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, in New Delhi. Accompanied by the party’s State general secretary Vishnuvardhan Reddy, Kiran Kumar Reddy went to the BJP headquarters where he was invited to join the party by its national leaders.
After quitting Congress ahead of the 2014 elections, Kiran Kumar Reddy formed the Samaikyandhra Party, which failed to win any seats. He later returned to Congress but remained inactive after the party’s poor performance in the 2019 elections. Recently, Kiran Kumar Reddy sent his resignation letter to the party’s high command, indicating his intention to join the BJP. Kiran Kumar Reddy, held various positions during the Congress regime, including that of Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from September 2010 to March 2014.
In June 2009, Kiran Kumar Reddy was elected as Speaker with a unanimous vote. Later, he became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh following K. Rosaiah’s resignation due to personal reasons. However, in February 2014, Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned both as Chief Minister and from the Congress party after the Telangana bill was passed in the Lok Sabha.
BJP’s Telugu State Expansion: Gains and Losses
In an effort to strengthen its presence in the Telugu-speaking States, the BJP initiated a drive to bring senior leaders from other parties into its fold. As part of this drive, the party has already inducted TDP Rajya Sabha members Sujana Chowdary, CM Ramesh, and T.J. Venkatesh into its ranks. However, the party suffered a setback when senior leader Kanna Lakshminarayana quit the BJP and joined the TDP.
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Article written by Lakkoju Nagesh Babu, senior journalist, and Column Editor.
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