Former chief of Andhra Pradesh BJP Kanna Lakshminarayana has resigned from the party on Thursday, damning the present president Somu Veerraju for his decision.
Kanna, a five-time MLA from Guntur district had served as a minister under five Congress chief ministers in united Andhra Pradesh. After the state's split, he had joined the BJP in 2014 and served as the Andhra Pradesh unit chief from 2018 to 2020.
Though his brief resignation letter on Thursday addressed to party chief JP Nadda cites personal reasons and compulsions as the grounds, Kanna has been miffed with the Somu for a long time.
“My respect for PM Narendra Modi will be intact forever but as a senior politician I am not able to continue in the AP BJP in the prevailing conditions here under Somu,” Kanna told reporters.
When Kanna was made the Andhra Pradesh unit chief in May 2018, Somu, who was one of the frontrunners for the post, was made the state convenor of the election management committee.
In July 2020, Kanna was replaced by Somu. Kanna has been expressing his displeasure over several of his successor’s decisions. While accusing him of acting unilaterally, Kanna even blamed Somu for weakening the party in the state, where it is vying to regain legislative presence.
Kanna, who hails from the electorally important Kapu community, is expected to join either the TDP or the Janasena. Andhra Pradesh assembly elections are due next summer.
Published 16 February 2023, 17:01 IST