The ruling YSR Congress MLAs Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy and Undavalli Sridevi joined the opposition TDP in the presence of party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday. The two MLAs went to the TDP office at Mangalagiri and joined the party.

Former MLC and weavers community leader Budati Radhakrishnaiah also joined the TDP in the presence of Chandrababu Naidu. The TDP chief welcomed them to the party and asked them to work for the party’s victory in the coming elections.

The two MLAs were among those who were suspended from the party by the ruling YSR Congress during the MLC elections. It was alleged that the four MLAs have cross voted resulting in the victory of TDP MLC nominee Panchumarti Anuradha in the MLC elections. Anuradha won the election with 23 votes in the first round.

The YSR Congress suspended Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy, Undavalli Sridevi, Anam Ramanarayana Reddy and Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy at that time. Since then, the four MLAs have been working with the TDP.

Speaking on the occasion, Chandrababu Naidu said that the TDP is heading for a big victory in the 2024 general election. He said that people are vexed with the misrule of Jagan Mohan Reddy. People were now repenting to have voted Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said. He alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy started his governance with demolition of Praja Vedika and the destruction continued even in the fifth year.

Chandrababu Naidu appealed to the people to vote against the YSR Congress in the coming general elections. He wanted the people to restore democracy in the state. He also wanted the people to ensure that the development of the state is put on track.

Chandrababu Naidu said that the state which was bifurcated in 2014 had gone back to several decades with the misrule of Jagan Mohan Reddy. He wanted the people to bring the TDP back to power if they wanted the state to be developed on par with the neighbouring states.