DK Aruna springs a surprise, invites Jupally to join BJP

HYDERABAD: A day after he was suspended by BRS for alleged ‘anti-party’ activities, senior leader and former minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Tuesday received a surprise call from BJP national vice-president DK Aruna, inviting him to join the saffron party.
BJP leaders said Krishna Rao played it safe and did not confirm to Aruna if he would join BJP. Not long ago, it was Aruna who had opposed Rao’s entry into the saffron party.“Aruna considered Krishna Rao her bete noire in erstwhile Mahbubnagar district where the latter has considerable following in some pockets,” sources said.
But, Tuesday had some surprise element in store for Rao as Aruna herself telephoned him and asked him to join the party ranks. Both leaders belong to erstwhile Mahbubnagar district and had worked in Congress before the formation of separate Telangana state.
Though they had their share of disagreements in the Congress, Krishna Rao helped Aruna elect as a ZPTC member in the past and later both served as Congress ministers when Andhra Pradesh was a unified state.
After Telangana came into being, Krishna Rao joined BRS and was made a minister in KCR’s cabinet. However, he fell out with KCR and stayed away from party activities for past 3-4 years. “At one point of time, it was touted he will join BJP but Aruna was not keen on welcoming him,” sources said.
Interestingly, speaking to reporters, Krishna Rao said an anti-BRS alliance will win the forthcoming assembly polls. His assertion came at a time when BJP is stressing that the it will contest the elections alone.