Rajanarasimha wife returns to party after tryst with BJP

Ms Padmini Reddy, the wife of former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, returned to the Congress late on Thursday night, after migrating to the BJP earlier in the day.

Speaking to mediapersons at her residence in Sangareddy, Ms Padmini Reddy said, “I have rejoined the party considering the feeling of party workers. I didn’t expect this outpouring from the party cadre” Mr Rajanarasimha, who heads the manifesto panel, welcomed her back into the Congress.

Ms Padmini Reddy expected a Congress ticket from Sangareddy, where the party has decided to issue the ticket to Mr Jagga Reddy considering that he is a strong leader. Following this, she joined the BJP in the presence of party president Dr K. Laxman. Earlier addressing mediapersons along with BJP leaders, Mrs Padmini Reddy said she was an admirer of Narendra Modi and had joined the party to support the Modi government’s welfare schemes.

Soon after Ms Padmini Reddy joined the BJP, mediapersons approached Mr Rajanarasimha for his reaction where he has lost his cool and refused to answer questions.

The political split in the family invited many jokes from the TRS and other leaders. Family members joining different parties is rare but not unheard of in Nizamabad, senior leader D. Srinivas continues to stay in the TRS while his son Aravind is a BJP leader. Ms D.K. Aruna is a former Congress MLA but her brother Chittem Rammohan Reddy has joined the TRS. In Karimnagar, Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao was a BJP leader, his brother, the late Ch. Rajeswar Rao, was a CPI veteran. His son Ch Ramesh was a TRS MLA from Vemulawada.