A day after former minister and TDP MLC Dokka Manikya quit from the primary membership of the party, the beleaguered party received another blow. Two more key leaders from the party have shifted their loyalties to the YSR Congress Party on Tuesday. TDP leader and Kadapa’s strongman Satish Reddy, who challenged the supremacy of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in Pulivendula, quit the party expressing his displeasure over N Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership.
Satish Reddy had contested twice against Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in Pulivendula constituency but lost. In 2019 elections, he had contested against Jagan Mohan Reddy from Pulivendula constituency and lost. Pulivendula had been the bastion of the Rajasekhara Redddy family with YSR representing the constituency as MLA six times, while his brother YS Vivekananda Reddy represented it twice. YSR’s wife Vijayamma and son Jagan Mohan Reddy represented it twice
Although Satish Reddy had lost elections to YSR and his son Jagan Mohan Reddy, Satish Reddy was always seen as a strongman by the Telugu Desam Party in Pulivendula. Despite losing thrice, Satish Reddy was given MLC post for his loyalty and also served as A.P Legislative Council Deputy Chairman in 2017. Satish Reddy had taken up agitations for Gandikota and succeeded in bringing Krishna water to Pulivendula. Though Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was instrumental in completing 90 per cent of Gandikota works, Satish Reddy ensured that the balance 10 per cent works got completed and Gandikota received Krishna water. With the exit of Satish Reddy from TDP, Naidu and his party’s efforts to make inroads into Pulivendula and wrest the seat from the grip of YSR family has now become impossible.
In Prakasam, former MLA Kadiri Babu Rao has quit the TDP and is likely to meet Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy to join his party. Kadiri Babu Rao, a close associate of Nandamuri Balakrishna and a Kapu strongman in Prakasam, was upset with the TDP high command for allotting the Kanigiri ticket he won in 2014 elections to former Congress leader Ugra Narasimha Reddy and shifted him to Darshi in 2019 elections. He lost the elections. Ever since his debacle in 2019 elections from Darshi constituency, Babu Rao had distanced himself from TDP as the party high command had given him a cold shoulder after his poll defeat.
TDP had been steadily losing high-profile leaders in a blow to Chandrababu Naidu and his party. Several leaders including Vallabhaneni Vamsi, representing Gannavaram Assembly Constituency of Vijayawada had quit the party accusing the TDP boss of mismanaging the party. The exit several key senior leaders from the TDP does not bode well for seasoned politician like Chandrababu Naidu who earlier suffered a setback when four TDP Rajya Sabha MPs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
