Former TDP leader joins BJP

Former TDP leader Adinarayana Reddy, a three-time MLA who had served as a minister in the Chandrababu Naidu government, joined the BJP on Monday, giving a boost to the saffron party's drive to emerge as a strong force in Andhra Pradesh.

He had resigned from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in September.

Reddy praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah and asserted that the BJP is the only political organisation wedded to the development plank.

Only the BJP is capable of ushering in all round developed of Andhra Pradesh, he said, as he also lauded the decision to nullify Article 370.

He was inducted into the party by BJP general secretary Arun Singh who said his presence in the organisation will strengthen it in the state.

He later met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working president J P Nadda.

Reddy, an influential leader of Kadapa district, a region he has represented in the state assembly, was in the Congress once and then shifted to the YSR Congress.

He then joined the TDP before this latest switch over to the saffron camp.