YSR Congress Party on Sunday suffered a major setback with one of its eight members of lok Sabha industrialist SPY Reddy springing a surprise and joining the rival Telugu Desam party.
Nilakantham, husband of another YSRCP MP Butta Renuka, also joined the TDP in the presence of party president N Chandrababu Naidu in New Delhi on Sunday.
TDP MP CM Ramesh welcoming the development said that Nilakantham joining the TDP was like the MP herself joining the TDP. “Many YSRCP MlAs were also talking to us to join the party. But we will take only the good people,” he said.
Both the MPs in question belong to Kurnool district. While SPY Reddy was elected from Nandyal, Butta Renuka represents Kurnool lok Sabha constituency.
“I have joined the TDP for development of my region. If I am disqualified I will contest by election on TDP ticket,” SPY Reddy said. He was earlier with the Congress and had joined the YSRCP in protest against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from these two MPs, speculations were also rife about some other YSRCP leaders joining the TDP. They include Khammam lok Sabha member P Srinivas Reddy, the lone YSR CP in Telangana and Bhuma Venkat Nagireddy, MlA from Nandyal.
But both of them denied the reports. “There is no truth in reports of me quitting the YSRCP. Yellow media was indulging in this false propaganda,” Srinivas Reddy said. “I came in to politics to fulfill the promises made by YS Rajashekhar Reddy. I will remain with Jagan and work to strengthen the party,” he said.
Bhuma Nagireddy, whose wife Shobha Nagi Reddy was declared elected from Allagadda Assembly constituency posthumously in the recent elections, said that he will remain with the YSRCP forever. “I respect the verdict of the people of my constituency who elected me on YSRCP ticket,” he said.
While the TDP-BJP alliance won 17 lok Sabha seats, remaining eight were bagged by the YSRCP.