Buoyed by the favourable winds blowing across the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making most of the opportunity and filling the vacuum left by the Congress and YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh.
The aspiration of the party, as stated by the leadership earlier, is to contest polls full-fledgedly by 2019.
Post bifurcation, the Congress drew blank in the 2014 polls in Andhra Pradesh.
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Senior Congress leader from Guntur Kanna Lakshminarayana joining BJP on Tuesday is seen as a tangible tilt of power equations towards BJP in AP.
“I am impressed and attracted by the people-friendly policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Mr. Lakshminarayana said after joining the party.
Mr. Lakshminarayana was once in the race for Chief Minister and PCC president posts. , He was elected to Assembly six times in his 35 years stint in Congress.
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With the joining of Mr Lakshminarayana the BJP is expected to get major boostin Guntur district as he represents dominant Kapu community in the district.
“BJP is definitely filling the vacuum left by Congress in the State and it is strengthening day by day. People have lost confidence in the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul. Prime Minister Narendra Modi could capture that confidence. Going by his style of functioning, he can deliver the promises,” said Turlapati Kutumba Rao, political analyst. BJP is trying to provide an alternative for those leaders who intend to change party. Political circles are abuzz with the news that MP K. Chiranjeevi and senior leaders from YSRC Konathala Ramakrishna and MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy may join BJP soon.
The trio recently hailed Narendra Modi’s good work. However, there is no definite statement to this effect from them till now.
Former Congress MP Kavuri Sambasiva Rao had joined BJP prior to elections. The party got enough mileage through its tie up with actor and Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan during poll season.
The net impact is estimated to be much higher and the party may emerge as an equal contender for its present alliance partner TDP by 2019 once the BJP top leadership starts focusing on its growth in AP.