Telugu Desam Party suffered yet another major setback in Telangana on Wednesday with its only lok Sabha member from the State Malla Reddy joining the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Malla Reddy, who was elected to the lok Sabha in 2014 from Malkajgiri constituency in Hyderabad met the Chief Minister and TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao at his residence on Wednesday and formally announced his decision to join the ruling party.
Speculations about his move were rife for some time and putting a stamp of confirmation on them, Reddy drove to the residence of KCR and formally joined the party.
Malla Reddy, who runs a group of educational institutions including engineering and medical colleges, earlier met his supporters in the city and explained to them the reasons behind his decisions. "I am joining the TRS to be part of the building of a golden Telangana", he said.
Expressing his satisfaction over the performance of the two-year-old Government in the State, he said that he was attracted by his programs and schemes like Mission Bhagirath for drinking water supply and two room flats for poor families. "I want to work for the development of my Malkajgiri constituency", he said.
Interestingly he also praised the TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the Chief Ministers of both AP and Telangana were leaders with vision and they were working hard for the development of their State.
With the latest defection the TDP was on the verge of extinction in Telangana as it has also lost 12 of the 15 MlAs to the TRS.