After Anil Antony, the son of Congress veteran from Kerala, AK Antony, Kiran Kumar Reddy, a former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, switched to the BJP on Friday. Kiran Kumar Reddy is the second former Congress politician from South India to do so in as many days.
Before Telangana state was created in 2014, Mr. Reddy was the final Chief Minister of an undivided Andhra Pradesh. Due to disagreements with the party leadership, he left the Congress in March 2023.
Prior to the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, where the main opposition Telugu Desam Party and the ruling YSR Congress are engaged in a heated struggle, Mr. Reddy’s decision to join the BJP arrives. The action might tip the balance in the BJP’s favor, which is looking to gain ground in the state.
After the division of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the 62-year-old politician left the Congress for the second time and founded his own party, “Jai Samaikyandhra.” He did not, however, have a significant electoral impact in the 2014 elections. Later, in 2018, he returned to the Congress after a lengthy absence from the political scene.
Mr. Reddy, who is a native of the Rayalaseema region, is anticipated to increase the BJP’s clout in the region. The BJP, which is striving to establish itself as a third option in the state, may also promote him as a prospective chief ministerial candidate.
Mr Reddy praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he was welcomed into the BJP by senior leaders at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi.
Mr. Reddy claimed that he “never imagined” leaving the Congress because of his family’s six-decade involvement with the party.
He criticised the leadership of his congressional body for its “inability to accept the people’s verdict and make course corrections.” They really feel that they are right and that everyone else, even Indians, is mistaken, he continued.
“They want the power to rule, but they don’t want to put in any effort or accept any accountability… The Congress is suffering in every state, and its high leadership does not engage with or value other people’s opinions, according to the four-time former MLA.
“I had never imagined that I’ll have to leave Congress… There is a saying, ‘My king is very intelligent, he doesn’t think on his own, doesn’t listen to anyone’s advice’,” Mr Reddy said.
He praised the BJP’s leaders, led by PM Modi, for their “hard work and commitment towards the nation,” noting that their “clear thinking and consistency are the hallmarks of the government, and taking courageous decisions.”
