New Delhi: Former parliamentarian G Vivekananda, who recently quit K Chandrashekhar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), joined the BJP on Friday (August 9) in the presence of party general secretary Arun Singh.

Later, he met BJP's working president JP Nadda, who welcomed him into the party.

Vivekananda, the son of veteran Congress leader of united Andhra Pradesh G Venkatswamy, was also an adviser to the TRS government in Telangana.

He resigned from the TRS and as well from the post of an adviser to the state government after the party denied him a ticket in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

Venkatswamy said he joined the BJP as it is a democratic party, not a family-run entity like the TRS. He further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership also inspired him.

He accused TRS supremo and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of running the state like a family-run company.

Welcoming him into the party, BJP's leader from Telangana and minister of state for home affairs G Krishan Reddy said he fought for the formation of Telangana and him stepping into the BJP would strengthen the party.

Earlier, several BJP leaders, including state's chief spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao reportedly said that many leaders from Telangana's TRS and Andhra Pradesh's TDP and YSRCP are planning to join the BJP.