Veteran actress Vijayashanthi has resigned from the primary membership of the Congress party and is all set to return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Although the actor turned politician started her career from BJP in 1998, she became a staunch critic of Narendra Modi when she joined Congress in 2014.
In March 2019, speaking at a public gathering in Telangana’s Shamshabad, actor-turned-politician made a scathing remark at PM Modi, as she referred to him as a “terrorist”.
“Everyone is scared that at what moment Modi will shoot the bomb. He looks like a terrorist. Instead of loving people, he is scaring people. It’s not the way how a PM should be,” she said.
In Congress, she was made chairperson for the Telangana Congress Campaign Committee. She was one of the star campaigners during the state Assembly polls held in 2018. However, there were reports recently that she wasn't happy with the treatment being given to her in the grand-old party.
In a film career spanning over 40 years, Vijayashanthi has acted in over 180 films in a wide variety of roles. Vijayashanthi began her political career with the BJP in 1998. She was made the secretary of BJP's Women's Wing. The actor-turned-politician later formed her own party -- Talli Telangana party -- to support the cause of Telangana statehood. The party was merged into Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in January 2009. She also became an MP from Medak after contesting on a TRS ticket and represented the constituency between 2009-2014.
Due to differences with Chief Minister and TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, Vijayashanthi quit the party and joined the Congress in February 2014. In 2014, she contested in the Assembly elections from Medak on Congress ticket but lost the polls.
