BJP Manifesto Committee chairman Vivek Venkataswamy quits party, joins Congress

HYDERABAD: In a major shock to the State BJP, former Peddapalli MP and BJP Telangana unit’s manifesto committee chairman G Vivek Venkataswamy is all set to return to his parent party Congress.

He quit the BJP on Wednesday expressing dissatisfaction over the way the BJP is functioning in Telangana. He sent his resignation letter to BJP State president G Kishan Reddy.

The former MP along with his son Vamsi Krishna met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Airport Novotel and discussed future political plans. It was believed that Congress assured a nomination for his son Vamsi for the Chennur Assembly seat in the ensuing elections. Earlier AICC Chief Mallikarjun Kharge formally invited Venkataswamy to return to the party fold over the phone.

Addressing media outside the hotel, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy announced that Venkataswamy whose family had a three-generation relationship with the Indira Gandhi family had returned to his home turf Congress. “ We asked him to join hands to bring down the KCR Government. Rahul Gandhi also spoke to him over the phone and paved the way for the return of Venkataswamy to the Congress. Today he joined the party in the presence of Rahul Gandhi,” Revanth Reddy said.

Venakataswamy said that even though Sonia Gandhi gave Telangana nine years ago the KCR Government had failed to deliver what it had promised to the State. “ During the last decade, only the KCR family flourished. So I thought the BRS party must be defeated by joining hands with the Congress,” Venkataswamy said. However, he refused to divulge further details about the assurances the party had given before rejoining the Congress.