Purandeswari Set To Join BJP

Former union minister Daggubati Purandeswari has decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Purandeswari's husband and Congress MLA Daggubati Venkateshwara Rao will also join the BJP along with his wife. Speaking to media personnel after a meeting with her supporters and a few MLAs from Visakhapatnam, Purandeswari announced that she will join the BJP, and is scheduled to meet the party's central leaders in New Delhi on Friday.

She is also likely to meet BJP president Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and L K Advani.

However, Purandeswari's decision has not been fully supported by her supporters who have argued that the BJP had also supported the Telangana bill in the Parliament.

But, the Daggubati couple have contended that the BJP is the best alternative to the Congress party in the present circumstances.

"My bonding with the people of my constituency (Visakhapatnam) is beyond politics. I have spoken to my supporters and have also consulted some other MPs from the Seemandhra region," she told reporters.

She also expressed her regrets that the Congress party had not only divided Andhra Pradesh, but had not even considered any of the representations that had been made by the Seemandhra MPs.

"We gave many representations to the Group of Ministers, but none of them were considered," she said.

"At first I had decided to quit politics in its entirety. Since I have already served in this field for 10 years, my supporters and family members forced me to stay back," she said.

Purandeswari, the daughter of TDP founder and former Chief Minister, the late N T Rama Rao, is now all set to contest from the Visakhapatnam seat on a BJP ticket.

Meanwhile, sources in the state BJP have indicated that a few more prominent leaders from the Seemandhra region are likely to join the party. (INN)