Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy faces Lok Sabha and Assembly polls this year (File).
Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh politician Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu has resigned as a Lok Sabha MP and from the ruling YSR Congress Party, handing Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy‘s outfit yet another setback before Assembly and Lok Sabha elections this year.
Mr Devarayalu – elected from Narasaraopet in Palnadu district – quit over reports the party intends to field a Backward Class candidate from the seat for the general election in April/May, as part of a ‘social experiment’ before the state poll. Sources said he was asked to contest from Guntur instead.
A furious Mr Devarayalu has hit out at the YSRCP’s senior leadership, warning of “confusion” in its ranks ahead of a big election year. “I am not responsible for any uncertainty in the party,” he said.
Mr Devarayalu, who has also pointed to the margin of his victory in the 2019 election – over 50,000 votes, has reportedly been backed by MLAs from the district, who want him to re-contest the poll.
He is the third member of the YSRCP to have announced an exit in the past few days.
Balashowry Vallabhneni, the Lok Sabha MP from Machilipatnam, quit 10 days ago and announced plans to join actor-politician Pawan Kalyan‘s Jana Sena, which has allied with ex-Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu‘s Telugu Desam Party to defeat Mr Reddy and his YSR Congress.
The first to quit was Sanjeev Kumar, the MP from Kurnool.
There are also reports Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and the Lok Sabha rep from Narasapuram, K Ramakrishna Raju, may also walk out of the ruling party.
Sources indicate Raju may also join the TDP-Jana Sena alliance.
READ | Eye On 2024 Andhra Polls, Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan’s Show Of Strength
The raft of resignations come after the YSRCP announced plans to drop or shift sitting MPs ahead of the Lok Sabha election, as it bids to fight anti-incumbency. YSRCP leaders on this list could include Tirupati MP M Gurumurthy, Visakhapatnam MP MVV Satyanarayana, and Kakinada’s Vanga Geetha.
The YSRCP has already released four lists of candidates for 58 Assembly and ten Lok Sabha seats.
A fifth is expected this weekend.
The TDP has also suffered some desertions, like Kesineni Srinivas, who was the MP from Vijayawada.
Now there is word his brother may be given the seat by the party.
This comes days after the Andhra Pradesh government became the second state, after Bihar, to hold a caste-based survey. The exercise began this month and will conclude by next week. The ruling party feels the enumeration exercise will transform the living standards of people in the state. The exercise was supposed to cover only the 139 Backward Classes, but its scope now includes all castes.
READ | Andhra Pradesh Launches Caste Census, Becomes Second State After Bihar
The YSRCP’s reshuffle attempt is also being done with an eye on rivals TDP (and the Jana Sena) and the Congress, which is fresh from a statement win in November’s Telangana Assembly election.
READ | YS Sharmila Takes Oath As Andhra Congress Chief, Slams Brother Jagan Reddy
The Congress has recruited Mr Reddy’s sister, YS Sharmila, into its ranks and handed her charge of the party’s state unit as it tries to repeat its Assembly elections success in Karnataka and Telangana.
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