Former AP CM Kiran Kumar Reddy likely to join BJP soon

VIJAYAWADA: Former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has been politically inactive since state bifurcation that took place during his tenure, is likely to join the BJP soon, sources said.

Terming himself an “integrationist”, Kiran Kumar Reddy had quit the Congress over Telangana statehood and had floated the Jai Samaikhyandhra Party, appealing to supporters to vote to keep AP undivided.

After suffering a rout in the 2014 elections, he re-joined the Congress, but has not been active.

BJP sources said he has been in touch with the party’s top leadership. It is still unclear what role Kiran Kumar Reddy would play. One possibility is that he will be used to mobilise the Telugu population in Karnataka, which is set to go to polls this year.