Another setback for Congress, Kiran Kumar Reddy joins BJP

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has joined the BJP. Before Telangana state was created in 2014, Reddy served as the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. In March of this year, Reddy left the Congress over differences with the party's leadership.

In another setback to the Congress party, former Andhra chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  Pralhad Joshi, the party's leader and minister of parliamentary affairs, welcomed him into the party during his induction ceremony, which was conducted at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

In 2014, Kiran Kumar left the Congress party in protest at the UPA government's plan to split Telangana and Andhra Pradesh into two separate states. In the 2014 elections, he established his own party, Jai Samaikyandhra, and even fielded candidates in several constituencies.

After being inducted in the party, he said that he had "never imagined" leaving the Congress but was switching to the BJP to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans for growth and national security.

Reddy's decision to join the BJP comes ahead of the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh next year, which will pit the incumbent YSR Congress against the main opposition Telugu Desam Party. Reddy is anticipated to increase the BJP's influence in Rayalaseema, where he was born and currently holds a position of great importance. 

He could also be projected as a potential chief ministerial candidate by the BJP, which is trying to emerge as a third alternative in the state.