VIJAYAWADA : The ruling YSRC seems to be staring at more desertions as it is getting ready to announce the names of incharges for some more Assembly and Lok Sabha seats in the State.
A minister and two MPs are reportedly planning to leave the party, sources said. Labour Minister Gummanur Jayaram has distanced himself from party activities since he was shifted to Kurnool Lok Sabha seat from Alur Assembly segment.
Though the party leadership held discussions with Jayaram a couple of times, it could not convince the sulking leader.
Jayaram did not even attend the Siddham meeting of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at Rapthadu in spite of being invited by the YSRC leadership, sources said. He is reportedly in touch with the TDP leadership.
However, Jayaram seems to be finding it difficult to get any assurance from the TDP on contesting from any of the three Assembly seats that he has proposed. The TDP has strong candidates in all the three Assembly constituencies -- Alur, Mantralayam and Guntakal -- which Jayaram is eyeing.
While TDP’s Kotla Sujathamma is a contender in Alur, the party has P Thikka Reddy in Mantralayamas as its candidate, besides former MLA Sainath Goud, who is a strong aspirant. As the TDP is unlikely to accommodate Jayaram in any of the three seats, the minister is looking towards the Congress, sources said.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy is said to be planning to join the TDP. The YSRC has appointed him as the incharge of Nellore Lok Sabha seat. Prabhakar Reddy is said to have asked the leadership to change the sitting MLAs of Nellore City, Kavali and Udayagiri.
While the YSRC is yet to announce incharges of Kavali and Udayagiri, it has changed Nellore City MLA P Anil Kumar Yadav and made him Narasaraopet Lok Sabha candidate. Much to the chagrin of Prabhakar Reddy, the party has appointed Anil Kumar’s close aide and Deputy Mayor Md Khaleel Ahmed as the incharge of Nelllore City seat.
He is now mulling to join the TDP and contest the Nellore Lok Sabha seat. Same is the situation with sitting Nellore MP Adala Prabhakar Reddy, who is likely to shift loyalties to the TDP.
Several YSRC leaders, including MPs and MLAs, have already left the party till now.
They include Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry, Kurnool MP S Sanjeev Kumar and Narsaraopet MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu, while some others like MLAs Kolusu Pardhasaradhi and Kapu Ramachandra Reddy have revolted openly against the party.