Hyderabad: Former Wardhannapet MLA Aroori Ramesh on Sunday, March 17 joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after quitting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Saturday, March 16.
State BJP chief and Union minister G Kishan Reddy welcomed Ramesh into the party. Sources suggest that Ramesh could be the party’s Warangal seat (SC) candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
In his resignation letter addressed to the party leadership, he expressed gratitude to party K Chandrashekhar Rao, working president K T Rama Rao, and T Harish Rao for the “opportunities provided to him within the party.”
This comes two days after sitting Warangal MP Pasunuri Dayakar ditched the pink party to join the Congress.
The development also follows days of heightened drama among Warangal BRS cadres about Ramesh leaving the party for the BJP.
March 12 drama
Ramesh who had met Union home minister Amit Shah in Hyderabad a day earlier on March 12, hadhinted at joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Aroori Ramesh was to address a press meeting to announce his decision to quit the BRS and join the BJP when former BRS Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, and ex-BRS MLA Basavaraj Saraiah and others landed at his house to persuade him against joining the BJP on March 12.
Dayakar Rao and Saraiah claimed that on the directions of former minister T. Harish Rao, they had come to hold discussions with Ramesh and persuade him to change his decision. A few minutes later, he was seen being taken in a car. It is understood that the BRS leaders reportedly told him that Harish Rao would hold discussions with him.
Moments later the BJP cadre arrived at the location, blocked his car and dragged Ramesh out of the vehicle.
The BJP is poaching as many leaders as it can from the BRS, which has been weakened after its loss in the Telangana Assembly elections last December to the Congress.
Though the BJP won only eight Assembly seats, it is likely to be in a direct fight with the ruling Congress given that the Lok Sabha polls see voting on national issues. The BRS, which was positioning itself for a national role will find it difficult to win seats.
