The decision of firebrand Congress leader and former minister D K Aruna into Bharatiya Janata Party late on Tuesday night has come as a big shock and surprise to the Congress ranks.
Popularly known as Gadwal rani, Aruna met BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi and joined the party in the presence of Union health minister J P Nadda, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and others. Apparently, it was Ram Madhav who facilitated her entry into the BJP.
Till the other day, Aruna was tipped as the Congress candidate for Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha constituency. But she did not evince interest in the Congress offer. But, surprisingly, she accepted the same offer from the BJP to fight the LS polls from Mahbubnagar.
Naturally, the Congress party was rocked by her defection, as the party is already in a bad shape due to jumping of eight MLAs into the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.The party leaders have no clue as to what exactly happened, though they are aware that she is not happy in the party.
Inquiries revealed that Aruna had been under tremendous pressure from the TRS to surrender, as she is the only strong leader in the district apart from Revanth Reddy.Apparently, the TRS government is targeting her family business activities and trying to implicate her in cases.
Since the Congress party is in totally bad shape, it cannot help Aruna in any manner. So, the only way to protect herself from the TRS onslaught is to join the BJP.Aruna discussed everything with Amit Shah, who reportedly assured of all help to get out of the crisis. Hence, she joined the BJP, sources said.