Bandaru Dattatreya elected Andhra BJP president

Hyderabad: Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya was today unanimously elected President of Andhra Pradesh unit of BJP for a three-year term.

The election of the 60-year-old backward class leader from the city was announced by BJP’s central election committee member Thirunavukkarasu here.

Dattatreya, a three-time MP from Secunderabad, who was a Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government, was the lone candidate who filed his nomination for the post.

He succeeds N Indrasena Reddy. His name was proposed by all the state council members of the party.

This will be his second stint as the state president, a post he had served in 1997 before being made the Central Minister.

A science graduate, Dattatreya had worked as full-time RSS pracharak till 1980 and was made state BJP Secretary in 1981, a post he held till 1995.

He was the state Vice-President of the party from 1995 to 1997.

Dattatreya was elected to Lok Sabha in 1991, 1998 and 1999 and had served as Union Minister of State holding Urban Development and Railways portfolios.

Several senior leaders, including M Venkaiah Naidu and Bangaru Laxman, felicitated him on his election.

Talking to reporters later, Dattatreya said he would strive to strengthen the party from grass roots.

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