It’s official: TRS ex-MP Boora Narsaiah Goud joins BJP

After his induction, Narsaiah said that he joined the BJP because he believed that the development of the state was possible only under its dispensation. “Telangana is for everyone and not for a few,” he said.

Narsaiah had resigned from the TRS on October 15, as he did not want to owe fealty to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He added that there was a difference between admiration and remaining slavish to someone, and that the people of Telangana would not tolerate bonded labour.

The former MP was unhappy with the TRS leadership after they did not field him as the party’s candidate in Munugode. He had earlier raised suspicion that Reddy leaders in Bhongir had sabotaged his chances in the 2019 Lok Sabha election because they did not want him to rise and wield influence in the constituency and the district.

In fact, he had a flaming row with Energy Minister G Jagedeeswara Reddy and even took on him publicly when he was in the TRS. He was sore over the party excluding him from the campaign for the November 3 Munugode by-election and for not consulting him before finalising former MLA K Prabhakar Reddy as the party’s candidate.

Political observers, meanwhile, felt Narsaiah’s exit would be a major blow to the TRS. Of the total 2.4 lakh electorate in Munugode Assembly constituency in Nalgonda district, 1.5 lakh voters are from the backward communities. Narsaiah has considerable clout among the backward classes.

Narsaiah would discuss his by-election campaign strategy with BJP chief JP Nadda later in the evening.