Two Andhra Pradesh MLAs, who won the 2019 Assembly elections on a YSRCP ticket and were later suspended by the party, formally joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s presence on Friday, December 15. Tadikonda (SC) MLA Undavalli Sridevi and Udayagiri MLA Mekapati Chandra Sekhar Reddy were among the four rebel YSRCP MLAs suspended for voting for the TDP candidate in Legislative Council elections from MLA quota back in March 2023.
While two of the four suspended MLAs, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy and Anam Ramnarayana Reddy had already revolted against YSRCP, Chandra Sekhar and Sridevi were identified after the MLC election results. Sridevi joined TDP with her husband Sridhar, and her daughters Bhavya and Harika. Chandra Sekhar too joined TDP along with his wife Santhamma. A few other leaders of YSRCP also joined the TDP on December 15, in the presence of TDP Andhra Pradesh president Kinjarapu Atchannaidu and former Minister Ponguru Narayana, at the TDP office, NTR Trust Bhavan, in Mangalagiri. The leaders were from Ramachandrapuram, Thamballapalle, Udayagiri, Tadikonda, Mantralayam, and Kovur constituencies.
Atchannaidu appealed to the public to vote the TDP-Janasena Party alliance into power in the upcoming 2024 Assembly elections. Four-time Udayagiri MLA Mekapati Chandra Sekhar Reddy criticised the YSRCP government at the event. Chandra Sekhar, who was formerly with the Congress led by former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy before present CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy founded the YSR Congress Party, said, “Many of you voted for him because he was YSR’s son, and gave him a victory with a massive majority, but [Jagan] has burned the state down within one term.” He alleged that Jagan doesn’t respect MLAs, and that meeting him was as difficult as meeting a god for legislators.
Tadikonda (SC reserved constituency) MLA Sridevi alleged that the Jagan government had done injustice to Scheduled Castes by ignoring their welfare. She also criticised the YSRCP government for sidelining Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.