HYDERABAD: Several TDP leaders, including Khammam district TDP president Koneru Satyanarayana, Telangana TDP Mahila State president Bandru Shobha Rani and former vice-president Palwai Rajani Kumari, besides several former MLAs joined the BJP in the presence of party working president JP Nadda on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, Nadda assured the newly-inducted leaders that they would be given due respect and their services would be utilised to strengthen the party in the State. “We expect the leaders to work according to the ideology of the party. We assure you that all of you would be treated with respect and will given opportunities to grow in the party,” he said.
Claiming leaders from different political parties are joining the BJP as they are impressed by the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nadda said that more leaders, including some from the ruling TRS, would be joining the saffron brigade soon.
“TRS leaders are getting suffocated in the party. They are not able to work under the leadership of KCR. They want to join us and strengthen our party,” he said.
Nadendla present
Meanwhile, explaining the reason for leaving the TDP, Rajya Sabha MP Garikapati Mohan Rao, under whose leadership TDP leaders joined BJP, blamed TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu for the downfall of the yellow party in Telangana. “He (Naidu) neglected the party in Telangana and allowed it to become weak. He left us with no choice but to leave the party.”
All the top leaders from the State, including Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, party national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao, national joint secretary Soudhan Singh, secretary Satya Kumar, party state in-charge PK Krishna Das, former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, party MPs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Aravind and Soya Bapu Rao were present on the occasion. Former CM of united Andhra Pradesh Nadendla Bhaskar, Rajya Sabha members Sujana Chowdary and CM Ramesh were also present on the occasion.