Lok Sabha Elections 2024 : BRS MP BB Patil joins BJP in Delhi

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and Telangana parliamentarian BB Patil joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 1, ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.Patil, member of parliament from Zaheerabad, Telangana, joined the saffron party in the presence of Union IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Delhi.

In a four line resignation letter to party president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Patil thanked Rao for allowing him to serve the people of Zaheerabad constituency and the party. Patil was elected from Zaheerabad twice in 2014 and 2019 on a BRS ticket.

"On behalf of all my colleagues and workers in the BJP, I welcome BB Patil into our fold as a fellow worker, as a fellow leader, and wish him the very best," Chandrasekhar said on the occasion welcoing Patil in the party fold.

The switch comes a day after senior BRS leader and Telangana parliamentarian Pothuganti Ramulu resigned from the party and joined the BJP. Ramulu, along with his son Bharat and three other BRS leaders, were inducted into the party in the BJP office in New Delhi by party in-charge of Telangana affairs Tarun Chugh and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The back-to-back exits from BRS comes weeks ahead of Lok Sabha polls. The dates of elections are expected to be announced in less than two weeks. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to release the first list of candidates for the elections soon. Reports claim that the party has finalised the names of candidates for nearly 155 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats. The first list may feature the names of some high-profile leaders.

Led by K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, the BRS lost the Telangana assembly elections to Congress party last year.