All is not well with the ruling YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh. The party leaders have started leaving the party as the 2024 general election is fast approaching.
It was Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy who quit the party a couple of weeks ago. He is likely to join the Congress and contest on Congress ticket in the coming elections. Another MLA Anna Rambabu from Giddalur said that he would not contest the next election.
A sitting MLC from the ruling party, Vamsi Krishna Yadav had submitted his resignation and joined the Jana Sena. He has the MLC position for next four years but still he quit the party in protest.
There were four legislators who expressed their displeasure over the party leadership and aligned with the opposition TDP. Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy and Undavalli Sridevi have distanced from the party and aligned with the TDP. Though the party suspended them for their anti-party activities, they preferred to be associated with the TDP much before.
There are now more than a dozen MLAs who are looking at the opposition parties. While some are looking at the TDP, others are looking at the Jana Sena for rehabilitation. The number might go up once the election work begins. There are also at least a half-a-dozen MLAs who are looking at the Congress and the number might go up if Y S Sharmila joins the Congress.
As Jagan Mohan Reddy began shifting the MLAs from one Assembly constituency to the other, there was resentment and unrest among the majority MLAs. They are worried about their position in the coming elections.
A good number of the MLAs are not happy with the way Jagna Mohan Reddy is handling the party affairs. They feel that Jagan Mohan Reddy had made them insignificant in the eyes of the people as their involvement was removed in every activity in the last five years. Now, holding them responsible for the popularity is a mistake of Jagan Mohan Reddy, they feel.
Many of the MLAs are not ready to be held responsible for the fading out of their image as they were nowhere involved in any of the government programmes in the last five years. It is to be seen how many of the sitting MLAs and MPs would stay with Jagan Mohan Reddy once the bell rings for the 2024 general election.
