Less than 10 days after Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party or TDP emerged the clear winner in the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh, fresh trouble is brewing for YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Three-time MP from Nandyal, SPY Reddy, who joined the YSR Congress in September last year and won on the fan symbol, joined the TDP, after a meeting with Chandrababu Naidu in Delhi. Kurnool MP Butta Renuka is also expected to join soon. Her husband Neelakantam also joined the TDP along with SPY Reddy, who was incidentally elected in 2009 on a Congress ticket.
“I have joined TDP not because of any differences with the YSR Congress but for the development of my region. The BJP is ruling at the Centre and TDP is set to be ruling Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Reddy said.
Chief Minister-designate for Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu is a seasoned politician who knows that a weakened political rival is better in the long term. Though he does not require any additional support to form his government, he is conscious that the gap, in terms of vote share, between his party and the YSR Congress is just about two per cent. One can expect that more MLAs from Jagan’s party may switch sides.
The Nandyal MP was in fact part of the MPs’ delegation of YSR Congress which met Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi and BJP President Rajnath Singh. The YSR Congress had won nine Lok Sabha seats, one of them in Telangana.
