Former Narasaraopeta Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu who had quit the YSRCP and resigned from the Lok Sabha seat in January over seat allocation differences is likely to join the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ahead of the state polls and Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May 2024.
Devarayalu, a first-time MP, had quit the party after he was told that he was being shifted to the Guntur Lok Sabha constituency. The shuffling of MLAs and MPs is a part of the ruling YSRCP’s election campaign. So far, four lists of newly appointed incharges have been announced by the party.
YSRCP leader Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy in December 2023 had remarked that the decision was based on assessment of performance reviews, presumably hinting at which candidate was likely to fare well and which wasn’t. “The decision was not a whim of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. There is nothing to hide. If someone who worked with us is affected by our decisions, we will try to hold discussions with them and try to work as a team. Our goal is to win with a better majority and serve the people of Andhra Pradesh again.”
Devarayulu in a statement on Thursday, February 15, said that he was informed by the YSRCP that he would be given a Rajya Sabha seat from Guntur. “I was told that it didn’t matter if I lost but that I must shift to Guntur,” he said.
“YSRCP then informed me that they would concede and give me the Narasaraopeta seat if I held a press meet to prove my worth to the party. If I have to do that even after 10 years of working diligently, I told them it is better to part ways,” he added.
Devarayulu, a politician belonging to the Kamma community (categorised as forward castes in Andhra), was replaced by former minister Anil Kumar Yadav, a BC candidate for the Narasaraopeta Lok Sabha constituency.
“All the seven YSRCP MLAs under Narasaraopeta Lok Sabha seat are backing me that I should be renominated from here but the party has different ideas. I was not consulted before the party decided not to renominate me from Narasaraopeta, and I cannot continue anymore,” Devarayalu said, adding that he has no interest in contesting from the Guntur Lok Sabha seat.
The changes in several constituencies are being made based on the “winning ability of the sitting MLAs and MPs”, senior YSRCP leader and Education Minister Botsa Satyanaryana told the media in January 2024, which led to speculations that the ruling party wants to cash in on the BC votes ahead of the elections.