Telugu actress Vijayashanti has announced she will contest the assembly election in 2004.

"I will complete the six films I have on hand in time to prepare for the elections in 2004," said the noted actress. She plays a don in Kannada director Shivamani's untitled film and an athlete in Madhav Sai's Telugu film Winner.

There was much speculation about whether Vijayashanti, a Bharatiya Janata Party member, would shift to the Telengana Rastra Samithi after she invited the party's founder and president K Chandrasekhara Rao, to launch Winner. Later, she also issued a statement supporting Rao's Telangana movement.

Asked whether she would contest the elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket, she said, "For now, I am a member of the BJP."