Telugu actor-turned-politician M Vijayashanti returned to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday after a formal induction ceremony. Earlier Shanti met Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Vijayashanti is the second high-profile Congress leader to join the BJP after Khushbu Sundar from Tamil Nadu.
Vijayashanti began her political career with BJP. However, she later joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and then made an entry in Congress in 2014 before the formation of Telangana.
BJP made major gains in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls as it won 48 seats, seven less than the ruling TRS which emerged as the single largest party winning 55 seats.
The strong performance by BJP came on the heels of its victory last month in the Dubbaka assembly seat. The party had wrested the seat from the ruling TRS.
