In a significant setback for the BJP, veteran actor and National Executive member M. Vijayashanthi resigned from the party just two weeks before the Telangana Assembly elections. Having been relatively inactive in party affairs for several months, Vijayashanthi, known as the ‘Lady Amitabh’ for her iconic roles in Telugu films, sent her resignation to state BJP chief G. Kishan Reddy.
Speculations abound that Vijayashanthi is set to join the Congress, with the formal announcement expected on Friday in the presence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. This marks the fourth notable leader to depart from the BJP in less than a month, following the resignations of former MPs Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and G. Vivekanand, who both joined the Congress, along with leader Enugu Ravinder.
Vijayashanthi’s political journey has seen twists and turns. Joining the BJP in 1997, she served as the General Secretary of the party’s women’s wing. However, in 2005, she left the BJP to establish her own outfit, Talli Telangana, advocating for separate statehood for Telangana. Later, she merged Talli Telangana with TRS (now BRS) and was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Medak constituency in 2009.
Her political affiliations continued to shift; she joined the Congress, contested unsuccessfully in the 2014 polls, and, after a period of relative political inactivity, returned to the BJP in 2020. Known for her illustrious film career spanning four decades, Vijayashanthi has acted in over 180 films across various languages. Her recent return to the silver screen in 2020 with “Sarileru Neekevvaru” marked the end of a 13-year hiatus from acting.
