Actor-turned-politician Vijayashanti returns to BJP

Actor-turned-politician Vijayashanti on Monday joined the BJP, a party she had chosen in the late 90s to start her political career before joining other outfits, and asserted that only the saffron party can fulfil the aspirations of the people of Telangana.

Vijayashanti, a very successful Telugu film actor in the 80s and 90s who also acted in a few Hindi movies, had met Home Minister Amit Shah earlier and joined the BJP in the presence of its general secretary Arun Singh, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar at the party headquarters here.

After leaving the saffron party, she had joined the TRS and the Congress. The 54-year-old politician is also a former MP.

Associated with the movement for Telangana’s statehood, she said the ruling TRS had failed to fulfil the peoples dreams for the new state and alleged that there was rampant corruption in the government headed by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. She also recalled her earlier stint in the BJP.

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The BJP is confident about its prospects in Telangana following its impressive show in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls followed by its shock win over the TRS in Dubbaka assembly bypolls and then the gains in the recent Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls.

The steady decline in the fortunes of the Congress has also helped the party emerge as the main challenger to the TRS.

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