Andhra Pradesh: Ex-Congress minister Laxminarayana joins BJP

VIJAYAWADA: Former Congress minister and five-time legislator from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, Kanna Laxminarayana joined BJP here today, saying he is "impressed" by the welfare programmes initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The policies and programmes of the Prime Minister have attracted me (towards BJP) and I am convinced that BJP is the only party that can take the nation on path of progress," Laxminarayana said on the occasion.

He was welcomed in BJP by Andhra Pradesh state unit president K Hari Babu.

"A vacuum has been created in the state politics after the Congress was thrown out of power in elections and most of the politicians are now preferring to cross over to BJP, but we have been selective (in inducting them in the party)," Hari Babu said.

A strong leader of Kapu community, Laxminarayana had served as a minister manning various portfolios in previous Congress-led governments.

Laxminarayana's son Nagaraju, who had served as Mayor of Guntur city, also joined BJP along with his father.