Soma Veerraju takes over as Andhra Pradesh BJP Chief.

MLC Soma Veerraju was one of the contenders for the post two years ago when Kanna Laxminarayana beat him to the feat. The national leadership has now appointed Soma Veerraju to take the chair. BJP has a marginal hold in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The regional parties of YSR Congress and TDP have dominated the politics in Andhra Pradesh for years. A change in the regional BJP leadership is a definite indicator of the effort that BJP is making to gain a foothold in Andhra Pradesh. Soma Veerraju was a frontrunner for the post two years ago when Kanna Laxminarayana gained the position. The latter is a 6-time legislator and has served as a minister of the state for over 15 years in various Congress-led governments in undivided AP. He later joined the BJP. With Somu Veerraju as the BJP Chief, the saffron party might take steps to make serious and aggressive efforts to gain traction in the state. BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh issued a communication regarding the change in leadership. “BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda ji has appointed Somu Veerraju, MLC, as the state president of BJP, Andhra Pradesh. The appointment comes into effect immediately,” stated the communication sent by Singh. Veerraju hails from an agriculturist family in the East Godavari district. Veeraaju held the positions of president and general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Andhra Pradesh for a long time. He was later elevated to the positions of general secretary and vice-president of the BJP state committee.