New Delhi: A day after four more Telugu Desam Party leaders and one Congress leader from Telangana defected to the Bharatiya Janta Party, saffron party leader GVL Narasimha Rao on Friday said that there is a post-poll BJP wave in the southern states which is triggering defection from various political parties to the BJP.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, the BJP parliamentarian said, "we didn't win big in some of the southern states in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, particularly in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. However, a post-poll BJP wave is being witnessed in these states, which is why leaders from many political parties are willing to join the BJP as they want to be a part of this wave."
"We have high hopes from the southern states for the 2024 elections," added Rao.
The defections come a week after four of the six TDP Rajya Sabha members defected to the BJP. TDP’s lone representative from Telangana in Rajya Sabha, Garikapati Mohan Rao, was among the four, who defected to the BJP.
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On the BJP still not being able to win a majority in the Rajya Sabha, Rao said, "we weren't able to pass many bills because of the low number of BJP members in the Upper house of the Parliament. Our seats are, however, increasing every two years in the Rajya Sabha. By 2022 NDA we will have a majority in the Rajya Sabha as well."
The BJP managed to win just one seat in the 119-member Telangana assembly last year. It won four of the state’s 17 Lok Sabha. Congress got three Lok Sabha seats while the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi won the remaining nine seats. The Congress lost the leader of opposition post in Telangana after 12 of its 18 lawmakers joined TRS, which now has 103 members. Another Congress lawmaker, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, has announced he would join the BJP.
