BENGALURU:  Former Congress minister A B Malaka Reddy is all set to join the BJP and will be formally inducted into the party on Friday. He had earlier contested as a Congress candidate from Yadgir and lost.He had earlier criticised AICC president Rahul Gandhi and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During Rahul’s recent rally in Kalaburagi, he had said that Rahul lacks political knowledge and added that the country is safe in Modi’s hands.

Reddy, who has been a Congressman for nearly four decades, visited BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa’s residence. This visit assumed even more importance considering that he was a former Congress minister and part of the formidable team that helped Mallikarjun Kharge win. Upset with the government and with Kharge, Reddy had almost decided to quit the Congress in 2017, but then chief minister Siddaramaiah had managed to get him to change his mind.

How will his exit affect Kharge in the Lok Sabha polls is the big question now. Also, the number of disgruntled leaders appears to be only growing. Apart from Reddy, Umesh Jadhav, Babu Rao Chinchansur and Malikayya Guttedar were all part of Kharge’s team but all joined the BJP.