Former MP Vivek Venkataswamy resigns from BJP, to join Congress

Former MP Vivek Venkataswamy quits BJP, likely to re-join Congress. There were heavy speculations that he would take the step.

Amid heavy speculations, former MP Vivek Venkataswamy resigned from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He could address a press conference later on Wednesday to announce his future course of action.

It was published in these columns that Mr. Vivek is likely to go back to his parents party Congress. Earlier, sources said that Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy requested him to join the Congress. He is scheduled to meet Rahul Gandhi at a hotel in Hyderabad outskirts later on Wednesday. Mr. Vivek’s son Vamshi Krishna is likely to be nominated from Chennur constituency by congress.

Mr. Vivek was elected to Parliament in 2009 from the Peddapalli constituency and to put pressure on the Congress, he joined the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (now BRS). He played a key role in the Telangana movement as a Parliament member at the time.

After the Telangana bill was passed, he returned to Congress only to join the TRS later. In the 2019 Parliament election, he expected the Peddapalli ticket from the BRS but did not get the nomination, with the Chief Minister and BRS chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao replacing him with a newcomer.

Mr. Vivek joined the BJP after the Parliament elections. His family owns a popular Telugu news channel V6.