In blow to BJP, Telangana ex-MP quits, joins Congress

BJP in Telangana suffered another blow barely a month before assembly elections after the party’s manifesto committee chairman and ex-MP Gaddam Vivek Venkataswamy resigned from the party. Along with him, spokesperson Anugula Rakesh Reddy too resigned from the party. Vivek and his son Vamsi Gaddam later met Rahul Gandhi and joined Congress. “We have joined the grand old party to end the autocratic rule of the BRS,” he said. His resignation, sent to Telangana unit president and Union minister Kishan Reddy, was two sentences long: “With a heavy heart, I tender my resignation from Bharatiya Janata Party. Thank you for your support during my tenure.” BJP had appointed Vivek the manifesto committee chief on October 5 in a bid to hold him back.