Senior politician Kanna Lakshminarayana has quit BJP today. In his resignation letter to BJP National President JP Nadda, Kanna said he was resigning for ‘peronal reasons and compulsions’.
Kanna’s exit from the BJP is not unexpected. For some time, there have been rumours that he was unhappy with the way Andhra Pradesh BJP president Somu Veerraju has been conducting the party affairs in the state.
Veerraju, along with Sunil Deodhar, the party incharge for the state, and Vishnuvardhana Reddy and GVL Narasimha Rao, has formed a clique within the party that has been acting very friendly with the ruling YSRCP. Due to this unofficial bond, the state BJP has come to be perceived as a B team of the YSRCP. Kanna expressed his displeasure over this several times but apparently to no avail. It is in this backdrop that Kanna finally decided to say goodbye to the BJP.
Kanna Lakshminarayana is most likely to join the TDP and contest the next elections to either the assembly or to the parliament.
Kanna’s exit makes a couple of things clear. One is that Somu Veerraju’s manner of functioning – which allegedly is soft towards to the YSRCP, has the approval of the central BJP. So they are not unduly bothered that BJP’s support base is shrinking day by day due to this nexus. Secondly, Janasena Party cannot hope that the BJP is serious about taking on the Jagan government any time soon. So if they keep the alliance with the BJP, Pawan Kalyan’s party is likely to cede anti-incumbancy ground to the TDP.
