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Casino organiser Praveen Chikoti joins BJP in Hyderabad
In May, Praveen was caught in Thailand during a casino raid. Upon his return to India, he claimed to have been an unwitting guest at the hotel where gambling activities were taking place
Hyderabad
Hyderabad-based casino and gambling club organiser Chikoti Praveen on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the assembly elections in Telangana.
At a low-profile event held at the BJP Hyderabad unit office at Barkatpura, party national vice-president D K Aruna formally inducted Praveen into the party by offering the saffron stole. Former MLC N Ramchander Rao and BJP Hyderabad (central) unit president Gautam Rao welcomed him into the party.
Speaking to reporters later, Praveen said his entry into the BJP was like a homecoming of sorts. “Though I was not a BJP member in the past, I had been associated with the activities of the party for quite a long time. It is like a missing child returning to his home,” he said.
Stating that he would strive for strengthening the BJP in Hyderabad, Praveen said he was confident that the people would vote the party to power in the coming assembly elections. “They have witnessed the rule of all the other parties – the Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Bharat Rasthra Samithi. Now, we shall ask them to give a chance to the BJP this time,” he said.
He said he should have joined the BJP in September, but could not do so due to some miscommunication between him and the state BJP leaders. “Now that I have joined the party, I am happy. The BJP is a party with commitment and discipline and I shall work for the party like a disciplined soldier,” he said.
Praveen, who has been facing criminal cases for organising gambling clubs and casinos in India and abroad, had planned to join the BJP on September 12. He went in a huge procession of his followers and supporters to the BJP state headquarters, but when he reached there, there was nobody in the office, including party president G Kishan Reddy who was supposed to welcome him into the party.
A red-faced Praveen alleged then that some vested interests in the BJP were trying to block his entry into the party. A Telangana BJP leader familiar with the development said several BJP leaders had complained to party’s election in-charge for Telangana Prakash Javadekar that Praveen’s entry would bring bad name to the party, as he was notorious for organising gambling and casino clubs.
Praveen is also known for his craze for exotic and rare birds and animals. During a raid by the forest officials on his farmhouse at Saireddygudem village of Kandukur block near Kadthal in Ranga Reddy district, about 50 km from Hyderabad, in the last week of July in 2022, they found a sort of “mini zoo” there with several species of pythons, mongoose, iguanas, monitor lizards, ostrich, horses, swans, ducks, parrots, pigeons and rare varieties of big spiders, besides dogs, cows and buffaloes.
On July 29, 2022, Enforcement Directorate authorities raided on his residence at Saidabad, on suspicion of his involvement in hawala money transactions. They also found several videos of Praveen organising casinos at Jhapa in Nepal, Goa and Thailand.
In May this year, he was caught in Thailand during a casino raid, along with several others. Upon his return to India, he claimed to have been an unwitting guest at the hotel where gambling activities were taking place.
Praveen was booked by the Gajwel police in July this year, for taking out a rally in violation of prohibitory orders amid communal tension in the area. He took out a rally to pay tribute to Maratha ruler Shivaji after a man had allegedly defiled his statue.
In the same month, Chatrinaka police in Hyderabad booked him for employing private security guards with illegal weapons. Shortly after the case was filed, he got bail in the case.
