Former Andhra Pradesh CM Kiran Kumar Reddy joins BJP

VIJAYAWADA: Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, senior Congress leader and the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, joined the BJP at a brief initiation ceremony in New Delhi on Friday.

Addressing the media at the BJP office there, the former CM sharply criticised the Congress party high command. He said the party leadership failed to learn from its “mistakes” in Andhra Pradesh and other states.

Claiming that he had never imagined his exit from the Congress, Reddy praised Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government. Union Minister Prahlad Joshi and BJP national leader Dr Lakshman welcomed him into the saffron party by giving him the party membership.

Kiran Reddy, who had formed his own party in 2014 and dissolved it in 2018, rejoined the party thereafter but recently tendered his resignation again.

He claimed, “Our family has been with the Congress since 1952. I never thought I would be leaving the party. The party is losing state after state due to the wrong decisions of the high command. It only craves for power while the leadership fails to grasp the happenings at the ground level. Taking unilateral decisions without consulting anyone is one of its mistakes.”

He said the party now lacked troubleshooters to bail it out of crises. “All these factors prompted me to leave the party,” he said.

Welcoming Reddy into the party fold, Prahlad Joshi said the former chief minister was a professional cricketer before taking the political plunge. The BJP’s batting in Andhra Pradesh would pick up momentum with the induction of Kiran Reddy,” he said.

State BJP president Somu Veerraju welcomed Kiran Reddy into the saffron party. He said the BJP will be strengthened with this development.