Hyderabad:
In a continued migration of Seemandhra Congress leaders to Telugu Desam Party, a former minister and an MLA joined the regional party today.
Satrucharla Vijayarama Raju, who was Minister for Forests in the Congress government led by N Kiran Kumar Reddy, and MLA Janardhan Thatraj, joined TDP in the presence of its president N Chandrababu Naidu in Hyderabad.
"An experienced leader like Naidu was best suited to ensure comprehensive development in the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh," Mr Raju told reporters after a meeting with the TDP president.
Facing flak for the "unilateral" bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, a number of Congress leaders in Seemandhra, including former ministers and MLAs, have quit the national party in protest against the passage of Telangana bill in Parliament.
The former ministers who quit Congress to join TDP include Ganta Srinivasa Rao, T G Venkatesh, E Pratap Reddy and Galla Aruna Kumari.
Dharmana Prasada Rao and Mopidevi Venkata Ramana are the former ministers who joined YSR Congress.
Former Union Minister D Purandeswari left Congress to join BJP, while MP Ananta Venkatarami Reddy joined YSRC.