New Delhi, March 31: Hours after quitting the Congress, former Telangana MLC P Sudhakara Reddy joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was inducted into saffron camp in presence of party president Amit Shah. After joining the BJP, Sudhakara said he would be part of the rally scheduled to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hyderabad tomorrow.

Sudhakara, whose tenure as the member of legislative council ended on March 29, penned his resignation earlier in the day. In a letter addressed to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Reddy said he has been disenchanted with the manner in which the Congress' politics has been "commercialised". Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Congress Fields State Unit Chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy From Nalgonda Seat.

"Unfortunately the traditions and values of Congress party have changed contrary to its principles. Money influence has increased during allocation of tickets in Telangana Assembly elections in 2018, MLC elections and also coming Lok Sabha elections," he wrote.

"This kind of commercialisation of ticket allocation in Indian National Congress forced me to consider leaving the party and I am rendering my resignation," Sudhakara added.

Sudhakara, who has also served as an AICC secretary -- member of Congress' highest decision-making body -- said his decision to quit the party was affirmed after the stand adopted by the high command following the Pulwama terror attack.

Calling the Congress' view on national security as inconsistent, the turncoat leader said sections of the party should not had raised questions on the number of fatalities incurred in the IAF strike in Pakistan's Balakot.

Sudhakara's exit to the BJP comes days after 10 of the 19 elected MLAs of the Congress, jumping ship to the TRS ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2019 11:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).