Hyderabad/New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS): In a setback to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Nagarkurnool MP Pothuganti Ramulu joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday.

Ramulu, also a former minister, joined the BJP along with his son and BRS youth leader Bharat Prasad and other leaders at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

BJP parliamentary board member K. Laxman, national secretary Tarun Chugh, and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar welcomed them into the party.

BJP national Vice president D. K. Aruna, Tamil Nadu co-incharge K. Sudhakar Reddy and BJP national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam were also present.

Ramulu has not been on good terms with BRS Nagarkurnool district president Guvvala Balaraju and other leaders.

The 71-year-old was keen to get a ticket for his son this time. After the Congress came to power in telangana, he was reportedly in touch with Congress leaders and was planning to switch loyalties. However, after Congress leader and former MP Mallu Ravi staked claim for Nagarkurnool ticket, Ramulu started looking towards THE BJP and finally joined the saffron party.

Ramulu had resigned as a government teacher in 1994 to join politics. He was elected to the Assembly in united Andhra Pradesh on A Telugu Desam Party (TDP) TICKET from Achampet constituency the same year. He retained the seat in 1999 and served as the sports and Youth Services Minister in Chandrababu Naidu’s Cabinet. He was re-elected from Achampet in 2009.

After the formation of Telangana, he quit the TDP and joined the TRS (now BRS). He was elected to Lok Sabha from Nagarkurnool in 2019. Ramulu is the second MP to quit BRS this month. On February 6, Peddapalli MP, B. Venkatesh Netha had resigned from the BRS to join the Congress.

The BRS had won nine Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019. The BJP had bagged four seats and Congress three seats. The AIMIM had retained Hyderabad.