Telugu Desam Party leader Adala Prabhakar Reddy on Saturday joined the opposition YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh, two days after he was named the ruling party’s candidate for the Nellore (Rural) Assembly seat, PTI reported.
“I regret not having joined YSRC all these days,” said Prabhakar Reddy, who joined in the presence of party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy. “My aim is to make Jagan the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.”
Assembly polls in the state will be held along with the Lok Sabha elections on April 11.
The TDP on Thursday announced Prabhakar Reddy’s candidature for the Nellore (Rural) seat, along with 125 other names for the polls. Prabhakar Reddy was supposed to join the YSR Congress the next day, but the move was delayed after the death of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s uncle, former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy.
Vivekananda Reddy, 68, was the younger brother of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He reportedly died of a cardiac arrest at his house in Kadapa district on Friday morning. But the former minister’s family claimed he had died of unnatural causes. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has ordered a special investigation team to be set up to probe his death.
Former MP Vanga Geeta from East Godavari district also joined the YSR Congress on Saturday. She had earlier been with the TDP, then the Praja Rajyam Party, and the Congress. She has been an independent candidate since 2014.
Another TDP candidate, Thota Trimurtulu from Ramachandrapuram in East Godavari district, is also in discussion with the YSR Congress, reports said. He is a sitting MLA of the TDP and has been re-nominated for the April 11 election.
Kurnool MP Butta Renuka, who crossed over to the TDP in 2017, is also set to return to the YSR Congress. SShe was denied the Kurnool Lok Sabha seat after former Union Minister Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy joined the TDP from the Congress. TDP also denied Renuka an Assembly ticket from Yemmiganuru.
Former CBI official joins Janasena Party
Former joint director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, VV Lakshmi Narayana, on Sunday joined the Janasena party in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada city, News18 reported.
Lakshmi Narayana led the investigation in the assets case against Jagan Mohan Reddy and had arrested him in March 2012. The officer is a Maharashtra Cadre IPS officer, who worked as a joint director in Andhra Pradesh on deputation. The CBI later transferred him to Maharashtra, after which he resigned on a voluntary basis and entered politics.
Former Vice-Chancellor of Srikrishna Devaraya University, Rajagopal, also joined the Janasena Party. Party chief Pawan Kalyan said he will soon confirm their seats.
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