New Delhi: In yet another blow to the BJP in Telangana, former MP AP Jithender Reddy joined the ruling Congress on Friday. Jithender Reddy joined the party in the presence of Chief Minister and PCC president A Revanth Reddy, along with AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana Deepa Dasmunsi and other leaders.
Moreover, the state government issued an order appointing Jithender Reddy as Special Representative, Government of Telangana, in New Delhi, and as Advisor to Government (Sports Affairs) with the rank and status of Minister of State.
This move follows a meeting between CM Revanth Reddy, other party leaders, and Jithender Reddy in Hyderabad on Thursday. Jitender Reddy was reportedly vying for a BJP ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Mahabubnagar, but the ticket was instead allotted to party leader DK Aruna.
Jithender Reddy tendered his resignation to BJP president JP Nadda, citing the party's inclination towards giving tickets to “outsiders” in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He also emphasised that the change in leadership within the state BJP had hit the party's prospects in recent Assembly elections.
Despite initial expectations of securing at least 25 seats in the Telangana Assembly, the BJP only managed to win 8 seats. Jitender Reddy criticised the party's preference for newcomers in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, stating that they "do not share the same ethos." Consequently, he felt compelled to resign from the party, he said.
“After the change in state leadership, the party has suffered severely as witnessed by the recently-concluded Assembly elections, where the party should have won at least 25 seats but we managed to secure only 8 seats in the 119-member Assembly. Even in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, our party has given preference to outsiders who recently joined our party and do not share the same ethos as us. I have conveyed my reservations and apprehensions several times at the state and national level,” Reddy wrote in his resignation letter to Nadda.
However, he extended his gratitude to the BJP's national leadership, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, for their relentless efforts towards national development.