VIJAYAWADA: One more legislator from the YSRC has joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party, taking the number of MLAs defecting from the principal Opposition party in the last three days to five.
T Jayaramulu, representing Badvel Assembly Constituency in Kadapa district, joined TDP on Wednesday. He is the second MLA from Kadapa district, the home district of YSRC chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy, to cross over to the ruling party.
Accompanied by TDP MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and senior leader Payyavula Keshav, Jayaramulu met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada. He was formally inducted into the TDP with Naidu putting a party scarf around his neck.
The development has come as a shock to YSRC as Jayaramulu is the second MLA from Kadapa district to have crossed over. Already, Jammalamadugu MLA C Adinarayana Reddy and his brother and MLC C Narayana Reddy, had joined the TDP. From Kurnool, another Rayalaseema district, two legislators, Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his daughter Bhuma Akhila Priya, had jumped on the yellow bandwagon. The fifth MLA in TDP kitty is Jaleel Khan from Vijayawada.
In a brief interaction with mediapersons after joining the TDP, Jayaramulu said he took the decision for the development of his constituency and his people.
“My constituency is the most backward constituency in Kadapa. In fact, I had resigned my job as municipal commissioner and joined politics to serve the people of Badvel. I strongly believe that my constituency and the state can develop under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu alone,” he said. When asked what assurances were given by the chief minister, the MLA said Chandrababu Naidu has assured the welfare of Dalits and the completion of pending irrigation projects.
He refuted the allegations that he was offered an attractive package to defect. He said if needed, he was ready to resign and contest the polls again.
TDP leaders Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and Payyavula Keshav claimed that there would be more crossovers from the YSRC. Interestingly, defection of a YSRC MLA from Kadapa, the power base of YSRC, happened on the first day of the two-day tour of Lokesh in Rayalaseema.
2 MLAs Skip Meet
Kadapa: YSRC chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who arrived at Pulivendula from Delhi, held an emergency meet with available party MLAs, MPs and leaders late on Wednesday night following the defection of party MLAs to TD. Two MLAs from Kadapa, S Raghurami Reddy (Mydukur) and K Srinivasulu (Koduru) skipped the meet.