Vijayashanti is the second high-profile Congress leader to join the BJP.
New Delhi:
Actress-turned-politician Vijayashanti, who resigned from Congress last week, joined the ruling BJP today, a day after meeting with Interior Minister Amit Shah.
Vijayashanti, 54, was a huge star in South Indian cinema when he began his political career with the BJP in 1997. He left the party to join Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) during their fight for a separate Telangana. She was elected a member of the Lok Sabha in 2009. The Telugu movie star joined Congress in 2014, just before Andhra Pradesh forked and Telangana was born.
His return to the BJP comes at a time when the party is preparing for an aggressive campaign for the 2023 Telangana elections, fueled by his achievements in the Hyderabad civic elections at the expense of the ruling TRS. The BJP won 48 of the 150 seats, seven less than the TRS and four times its 2016 tally. Congress barely registered, winning just two seats.
Vijayashanti is the second high-profile Congress leader to join the BJP after Khushbu Sundar of Tamil Nadu. He reportedly resigned from Congress after the results of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Friday, in which the opposition party was decimated.
According to those close to Vijayashanti, who had compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a terrorist and a dictator while campaigning for national elections last year, they had been disenchanted with Congress for a while. He had not actively participated in the Congress programs and activities in recent months.
She “felt marginalized” in the party and was unhappy about the decline of Congress in Telangana, attendees said.
“Vijayashanti worked a lot in Telangana, but the chief minister of the state, K Chandrasekhara Rao, marked everyone. The BJP will definitely win in the Telangana Assembly next time. Vijayashanti will be at the forefront for the development of the party in the state. said BJP leader G Vivek. Venkataswamy on Sunday.
Vijayashanti, at the peak of her film career, played strong leads that cast her in the mold of a lonely crusade against crime. He also acted in Hindi movies, gaining more pan-Indian fans.
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