The MLAs from the ruling YSR Congress are in jitters as they get calls from the chief minister’s office on Monday. They spent tense hours as the party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy called them. Some of them have come to the chief minister’s office, while some others have made phone calls to know the latest position.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had started the exercise to field candidates for the coming elections. He is calling the MLAs to shift some of them to the new constituency and say no ticket for others. Those who were shifted to the new constituency are happy while those who denied the ticket are crying and started looking at other parties.
On Monday, Ongole MLA and former minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, former minister and Penamaluru MLA Kolusu Pardha Saradhi, Chinthalapudi MLA V R Eliza, Chittoor MLA A Srinivasulu, deputy chief minister and Gangadhara Nellore MLA K Narayana Swamy received phone calls from the chief minister’s office.
Sources say that the chief minister had decided to keep these MLAs out of the contest this time. He had told them that the party would not give them tickets as their winning chances are very weak. The party is likely to release the third list of the candidates on Monday giving tickets to the party senior leaders.
Deputy chief minister Narayana Swamy told media persons that the party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy is giving tickets to those who betrayed him and caused damage to the party. He said that the party was controlled by a handful of leaders who have been trying to protect their own political interests.
He also told the media persons that those coming from the opposition TDP were getting tickets. He wanted the party leadership to consider the character of the party leaders and their credibility and not go by migration from other parties.
Sources say that Pardhasarathy and other MLAs are looking at the opposition TDP and the Congress for tickets. It is to be seen how many of them would leave Jagan and go to the other parties at a time when he is fighting one of the toughest battles in 2024.
