Senior TDP leader Motkupalli Narsimhulu set to join BJP

Senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Motkupalli Narsimhulu is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to top party sources, Narsimhulu, a key leader in the Dalit (SC) community in TDP, has met BJP national general secretary Muralidhar Rao over three times in the past few weeks.

Narasimhulu will join the ruling brigade in presence of party president Amit Shah and working president JP Nadda in the national capital. "All formalities for his joining have been completed," sources said.

Narsimhulu has been with the TDP since its inception in March 1982 and was a minister in united Andhra Pradesh.

He represented Aleir constituency between 1983 and 2004 in unified Andhra Pradesh Assembly. Narasimhulu was elected as an MLA from Tungaturti constituency in 2009. He was also a member of TDP politburo.

Speculations are rife that all is not well between Narasimhulu and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The rift between the two leaders came out in the open when he publicly criticised Naidu during the 2019 general elections.

This is being seen as a jolt for the TDP which suffered a setback in the recent elections and lost some of its key leaders like MP YS (Sujana) Chowdari.

With Narasimhulu's induction in the party, BJP is expected to strengthen its base in Telangana.