New Delhi (India), April 7, 2023: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a significant political development ahead of the state assembly elections next year.
Reddy, the last Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh before the formation of Telangana state in 2014, resigned from the Congress in March 2023 over differences with the party leadership.
His decision to join the BJP comes just a day after Anil Antony, the son of a Congress veteran from Kerala, AK Antony, also joined the party. The 62-year-old politician is expected to strengthen the BJP’s presence in the Rayalaseema region, where he has considerable influence, and could be projected as a potential chief ministerial candidate by the party.
Speaking at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Reddy praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party’s leaders for their “hard work and commitment towards the nation,” while hitting out at his former Congress leadership for their “inability to accept the people’s verdict and make a course correction.”
He also accused Congress of getting damaged in all states and its high command of not interacting with others or taking their opinion.
The BJP, which is attempting to emerge as a third alternative in the state, hopes that Reddy’s inclusion will tip the scales in their favor, as the ruling YSR Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party are locked in a bitter contest
