Amaravati: The Telugu Desam Party is in the midst of crisis as four of its Rajya Sabha MPs jumped ship to the BJP, and more leaders are expected to follow suit. reacting to this, Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu yesterday said crises were not new to the party.
According to media reports, the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is currently vacationing in Europe with his family, a month after his party faced defeat in the assembly elections.
He had apparently spoken to some senior TDP leaders regarding the issue. He was quoted saying that TDP fought with the BJP only for securing the State’s interests.
Four of its six MLAs submitted a petition to the Upper House Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and joined the BJP yesterday. The desertion of MLAs comes after newly appointed Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy recently announced that some of the TDP ledears were in touch with him.
According to sources, the party was headed for a split as several TDP leaders were not ready to accept Naidu’s son Lokesh as the leader after he lost his maiden electoral contest.
It is also being reported that Kesineni Srinivas TDP Lok Sabha member from Vijayawada is unhappy with the leadership and he has been making remarks against the party on social media.
Reacting to this, the BJP state unit vice-president S Vishnuvardhan Reddy, “The political face of AP will change by the time Naidu returns. Many TDP leaders, including former ministers and legislators, are ready to switch over and join the BJP.”
In a related development, over a dozen senior TDP leaders, including former legislators, reportedly held a secret meeting in Kakinada apparently to discuss about their future course of action.