The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received a setback in Andhra Pradesh as former state minister Kanna Lakshminarayana announced his resignation from the party on Thursday.
Lakshminarayana, who has been unhappy with the party's state leadership for some time, sent his resignation letter to party's national president J.P. Nadda.
He announced his decision in Guntur after holding consultation with his followers. Lakshminarayana's followers also resigned from the saffron party.
The senior leader, who earlier headed the BJP in the state, said that he was resigning due to the state BJP president Somu Veerraju's style of functioning.
He said he would soon announce his future course of action.
The former minister said that he was resigning due to the approach of Somu Veerraju but he remained an admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He recalled that he joined the BJP in 2014 and worked as an ordinary worker. He said in recognition of his work, the party appointed him state president in 2018. He claimed that he visited all 175 Assembly constituencies and announced candidates for 2019 elections.
Lakshminarayana said that he worked with the aim of bringing the BJP to power in 2024. He said he also led the fight against the wrong decisions of Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
The former minister said after Covid-19 pandemic, the leadership appointed Somu Veerraju as the party state president.
Lakshminarayana was unhappy with Somu Veerraju for removing presidents of the party's district units appointed when he was the president. He was also unhappy with BJP state president for failing to have proper coordination with party's ally Jana Sena Party headed by actor politician Pawan Kalyan.
Like Pawan Kalyan, Lakshminarayana also hails from Kapu community.
A five-time state legislator from Guntur district, Lakshminarayana severed his nearly four-decade association with the Congress to join the BJP in 2014, a few months after the elections. He served as minister and held various portfolios in the cabinets of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, K. Rosaiah and Kiran Kumar Reddy.
