Ex-Union minister Sai Pratap joins TDP

Former Union Minister A Sai Pratap today joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh. He was formally admitted into the party by Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu. As a Congress leader, Sai Pratap had served as a member of Parliament for six terms from Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency in Kadapa district. He was a close friend of former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy who too belonged to Kadapa district. Sai Pratap was the Union Minister of State for Steel in the UPA 2 government headed by Manmohan Singh. He quit the Congress in 2014 protesting the bifurcation of AP. He stayed away from politics after quitting Congress.