Former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, 63-year-old Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy joined the BJP on Friday, less than a month after resigning from the Congress.
Reddy said the Congress was taking “wrong decisions” and paying the price for it. He said, ‘The sad thing is that they are not interested in making any kind of reform. If there is a mistake, then it should be accepted and try to rectify it. There is nothing like this in Congress. Due to the bad decisions of the Congress high command, the party is losing everywhere.
Reddy, who was the last chief minister of Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation in 2014, resigned from the Congress on March 12 for the second time in nine years.
Reddy also praised the BJP leadership for taking bold decisions in the national interest. “The commitment with which he is implementing his welfare policies is commendable. I am inspired by the vision and commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I have now joined the party and will play whatever role is assigned to me with enthusiasm.
Reddy took over as the 16th Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh after his predecessor K Rosaiah stepped down citing personal reasons. Rosaiah was appointed to the post by the Congress leadership after the death of the then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash in September 2009.
Cricketer-turned-politician Reddy is a four-time MLA, having won the assembly elections in 1989, 1999 and 2004 from Vayalpadu (merged with Pileru assembly constituency). In the 1994 elections, he was defeated by the Telugu Desam Party, but won again in 2009 from Pileru.