Another TDP MP quits, joins YSRC

VIJAYAWADA: Another lawmaker on Monday quit chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and joined his main challenger Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s Yuvajana Sramika Rytu Congress (YSRC) amid a spate of desertions from Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party.

P Ravindra Babu, the lawmaker, also resigned from Lok Sabha ahead of the national and state polls due this year. He is the second Parliament member after Avanti Srinivas to quit the TDP since last week. Babu, a Dalit, retired from the Income Tax department and contested the 2014 national poll on a TDP ticket.

Babu accused Naidu of promoting his own community in politics as he joined YSRC.

A YSRC leader said they have been flooded with requests from several lawmakers seeking clearance to join their party. “…we are choosy and want to ensure that indiscriminate influxes do not affect the ecosystem within the party organisation,’’ he said on condition of anonymity.

In a teleconference with his party workers, Naidu on Saturday asked people to teach a befitting lesson to the lawmakers who have defected from the TDP.

YSRC spokesperson Buggana Rajendranath Reddy mocked Naidu’s call. “After enticing 23 MLAS from the YSRC through fraudulent and unethical means, the situation has come full circle now.” Three serving and as many former assembly members have resigned from TDP over the last few months and joined YSRC and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.

Separately, Naidu’s relative, Narne Srinivas met Jaganmohan Reddy amid speculation that he, too, will join YSRC. TDP spokesperson Dokka Manikya Varaprasad said the meeting was just for seats. Naidu has denied Srinivas an assembly ticket to avoid criticism of encouraging relatives in politics, according to people familiar with the matter.

K Nageswar, a political analyst, said it was too early to conclude that the desertions are in sync with public mood appearing to hurt Naidu in the elections.