The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday appointed former Union Minister Daggubati Purandeswari as new president of party Andhra Pradesh unit. She replaces Somu Veeraraju.
The BJP also appointed former Chief Minister of combined Andhra Pradesh N. Kiran Kumar Reddy as member of the party’s national executive. Mr. Reddy was the last Chief Minister of the unified Andhra Pradesh, and joined the BJP in April this year.
At present, Ms. Purandeswari is BJP’s Odisha unit in-charge. She joined the BJP in 2014, after resigning from the Congress in protest against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh that was favoured by the then United Progressive Alliance government. She represented Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency in the 2009 General Elections.
Ms. Purandeswari is the daughter of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder-president and former Chief Minister of combined AP N.T. Rama Rao, and sister-in-law of former Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The appointments assume significance in the wake of the General and Assembly elections slated to be held in 2024.
There was speculation about potential candidates for the position of State BJP president, with names like Y. Satyakumar and Y. Satyanarayana Choudary (Sujana Choudary) being mentioned in party circles.
BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda during the day called Mr. Veerraju and asked him to resign. Mr. Nadda reportedly told him it was part of the reorganisation of the party at various levels. Stating that the party would accommodate him in a suitable position, Mr. Nadda conveyed to Mr. Veerraju that the party had decided to appoint a new president of A.P. unit as the latter’s term came to an end.
Mr. Veerraju faced accusations for running the party like his ‘personal fiefdom’ by a party colleague, former Minister and former BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana. Mr. Lakshminarayana also alleged that Mr. Veerraju was inhibiting the growth of the party by not encouraging newcomers and resigned from the BJP in February this year, asserting that he was neglected and faced humiliation by Mr. Veerraju. He later joined the TDP.
