Vijayashanti quits BJP; likely to join Congress

New Delhi: Film actress-politician Vijayashanti, once known as the 'action heroine' of Telugu-Tamil movies, has done yet another political acrobatics right in the middle of the campaign for the Telangana assembly polls. She has announced her resignation from BJP and is likely to join Congress.

Amid the buzz of her unhappiness over denial of a BJP candidature, Congress camps indicated that they were in talks with Vijayashanti and that she may join formally during an election rally this week, most likely in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. She is the latest exit from Telangana BJP to join Congress.

Vijayashanti, now 57, made her political debut in BJP in 1998. She was such a crowd-puller that BJP fielded her from Cuddapa Lok Sabha seat in 1999 when there were talks that the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi would contest from there. But the anticipated 'star war' never took place as Gandhi filed her nomination from Bellary, prompting Vijayashanti to withdraw from Cuddapa. She later joined BRS to win a Lok Sabha seat from Medak. Following a fallout with BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, she joined Congress only to move to BJP after some years.