Hyderabad, Jul 7 (IANS): Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, who was promoted to the cabinet rank on Wednesday, remained the only face in the Narendra Modi government from the two Telugu states.
One of the prominent faces of the BJP in Telangana, Kishan Reddy is a first-term MP from Secunderabad, one of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Hyderabad.
Kishan Reddy is among the four BJP MPs from Telangana. Some party leaders were hoping that Soyam Bapu Rao, who represents Adilabad constituency, may be inducted but no other face from Telangana found a place in the expansion.
Andhra Pradesh remained the only southern state which has no representation. The party has no MP from Andhra Pradesh.
Kishan Reddy, who also served as three-time MLA, has been associated with BJP since its inception. He began his political career as an ordinary party worker and came up in the organisation through sheer hard work and determination.
Popular among his supporters as 'Krishananna', the 60-year-old's calm demeanour betrays his inner strength. He had served as BJP floor leader in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Assemblies.
Hailing from Ranga Reddy district, he was born in a middle-class farmers' family in 1960. He earned a diploma in tool designs from the Central Institute of Tool Designs in Hyderabad.
As someone who drew inspiration from Lokmanya Jayaprakash Narayan, he displayed leadership instincts from his student days.
He joined BJP as its youth worker. He was rewarded for his unflinching commitment by the party by appointing him as the national President of party's youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 2002.
He was also President of BJP's state unit in undivided Andhra Pradesh for two terms from 2010 to 2014. After bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, he became President of the Telangana unit of the party and held the post till 2016.
He was first elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in 2004 from Himayatnagar constituency in Hyderabad. After the delimitation of constituencies in 2009, he contested from Amberpet and went on to win two terms as MLA from the constituency.
He also served as floor leader of the party in both the state Assemblies. He lost the Amberpet Assembly constituency in the elections held in 2018 but was picked up as party candidate for Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad.
As Amberpet is one of the Assembly segments under Secunderabad, Kishan Reddy was not new to the constituency and with good support among urban electorate, he made it to the Lok Sabha.
Kishan Reddy is married to Kavya, a homemaker who supports him in his political journey. His daughter, Vaishnavi and son, Tanmai are pursuing their higher studies.
Kishan Reddy thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the trust reposed in him. I will sincerely make an endeavour to live up to his expectations that of my people," he said in a statement.
He also thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his guidance and support. "Training under Shri Shah has given me focus and discipline for which I am indebted to him. I thank all the senior leaders and the President of BJP Shri J.P. Nadda."
Kishan Reddy said he will now have a two-fold strategy. He said he would strengthen the hands of PM Modi to contribute to his dream of building a new India.
"I shall actively contribute to the development of Telangana in a manner that the aspirations, vision and dreams of our martyrs are realized," said Reddy while thanking people of his constituency.