Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who defected from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party, is desperately trying to prove his identity and influence in the state by luring his erstwhile colleagues in the party to the BJP.
According to sources, Kiran reportedly contacted senior Congress leader and former Union minister M M Pallam Raju and tried to bring him into the BJP. Both the leaders had a meeting at a private hotel in New Delhi and discussed the options.
Pallam Raju has been lying low for quite some time after the Congress lost his glory completely in Andhra Pradesh. Because of his loyalty to the party, he has not joined any other party, though he had received offers from the BJP long ago.
Though his erstwhile colleagues like Daggubati Purandeshwari and Kavuri Sambasiva Rao had defected to the BJP, he preferred to stay back in the Congress. Since the BJP also has lost its relevance in Andhra after 2019, he did not entertain any such offers.
However, Kiran is learnt to have convinced Pallam Raju to join the BJP, stating that the party has some bright chances of winning a few seats in the next general elections in the state.
Pallam Raju, being a Kapu leader, stands a good chance of winning the election, because of the possibility of polarisation of Kapu votes in the next elections.
“Even if he cannot win the general elections, the BJP leadership is willing to reward him by making him Governor of any state next year,” Kiran reportedly told him.
If Pallam Raju falls for the offer, it is only a matter of time that he might jump into the BJP sooner or later.
