Upset over not being given a seat to contest in the upcoming Huzurabad bye-election, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former minister E Peddi Reddy quit the party. The leader on Monday told the media that he intends to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Peddi Reddy was an aspirant for the party ticket for the ensuing bye-election to the Huzurabad Assembly seat vacated by former minister E Rajender. However, when Rajender joined the BJP the party decided to field him as its Huzurabad candidate. Peddi Reddy was opposed to Rajender's entry into the BJP. In his resignation letter, the two-time MLA who represented Huzurabad in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh wrote, “My conscience is not permitting me to continue in the party because of the changed political situation.”.
Peddi Reddy had been with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and joined the BJP in 2019. He had served as minister during the tenure of TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Peddi Reddy is the second BJP leader to quit the party in less than a week. Senior leader Motkupalli Narasimhulu resigned from the saffron party last Friday. He was also a prominent leader of the TDP in Telangana before joining the BJP.
Both Peddi Reddy and Narasimhulu are likely to join the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Bye-election to the Huzurabad seat has been necessitated by the resignation of sitting legislator Rajender. He quit the TRS and resigned from Assembly membership in June. Rajender was dropped from the cabinet by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao following allegations that he encroached on lands of some farmers.
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao met Dalit representatives from Huzurabad as part of announcing his Dalit Bandhu scheme, a flagship programme to uplift eligible Dalit families.
(IANS Inputs)
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