Purandeswari to join BJP

• Claims she felt humiliated by Congress decision on bifurcation
• To meet Advani, Sushma, Rajnath Singh today to express her willingness
• Mixed reactions from followers; Some want her to join TDP
• Others ask how she can join a party which helped division of the State

Visakhapatnam: The beleaguered Congress suffered yet another setback in Seemandhra region on Thursday, as former Union Minister D Purandeswari has announced her decision to join BJP.

Purandeswari will be formally admitted into the saffron party on Friday in the presence of national party president Rajnath Singh and other senior leaders like L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj. Her husband Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, MLA from Parchoor in Prakasam, too will join the BJP. The decision was taken at a meeting with her supporters and party workers here on Thursday.

According to Purandeswari, it was a painful but inevitable move on her part. She said that she felt humiliated by the Congress party which had ignored all her pleas on the issue of bifurcation of the State. She had thought of taking political sanyas, her followers, family members and close associates prevailed upon her not to quit politics.

The Congress party, she said, was not bothered about the political career of its people's representatives in Seemandhra while deciding to divide the State. She even suspected that it was banking on the support of K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana and YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Seemandhra, which would have made the party to take such a drastic step. She said the Congress had cut their throats and pushed them into a bonfire.

Purandeswari said, "I have come here to share my decision. I have spoken to all. I am not exerting pressure on anybody to be with me and come with me. I have left it to them. The situation is such that we have to take a painful decision."

The Vishakhapatnam MP resigned from the UPA government as well as from the primary membership of the Congress after the Parliament cleared the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana.

As per reports, the BJP leadership offered the Daggupati couple tickets from their respective constituencies. There are also indications that Purandeswari may be given the reigns of the party in the residuary State.

Purandeswari’s decision to join BJP received mixed reactions from her workers. While some felt that she should have joined TDP since it was launched by her father N T Rama Rao, others wondered how she could join a party which had cooperated with the Congress in dividing the state.

Purandeswari made her political entry in 2004. AICC president Sonia Gandhi fielded her from Bapatla Lok Sabha constituency which she won with a majority of 94,000 votes. Impressed by her performance in Parliament, the party inducted her into the council of ministers. In 2009, she contested from Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency by defeating PRP candidate with about 35,000 votes.

According to sources, Venkaiah Naidu is said to have played key role in persuading her to join BJP. They said she decided to contest from Visakhapatnam as there was no strong Congress contender and as she was not confident of winning from Vijayawada. Moreover, the BJP does not have strong cadre in Krishna district.

If she contests from Visakhapatnam, a majority of her cadres, who would be joining her, and the BJP cadres can together help her give a tough fight. The YSRCP is strong in this constituency, analysts feel.

Hours before the announcement, many local Congress MLAs including Dronam Raju Srinivas and V Vijay Prasad met her and urged her not to leave the Congress. She told them that she had already made up her mind.