Some prominent leaders are quitting the YSR Congress Party, YSRCP, citing the recent electoral reverse as the reason. Party members have already gone on record to quit and there are those supposed to be scouting for other alliances. The political landscape is already shifting. In addition, one of the prominent leaders who played a significant role during the opposition phase of the party and later on was an important position holder of the government has also quit the party, and this raises an expectation that perhaps some others will do so as well. Within this situation, all expectations are against Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on how he is going to cope with this situation.
The latest to quit is none other than Vasireddy Padma, the erstwhile Chairperson of the Women’s Commission. She has gone to great lengths in public to declare that she intends to quit the YSRCP. Padma was very active during the term of opposition and had, after taking power, taken up active leadership roles. She had targeted the Jaggayyapeta seat in recent elections but could not. Since then, she resigned her posts and gone into a public relation freeze, which only generated speculations about her future in politics.
During the ongoing election campaign, Padma was demanding an MLA seat for either her or her husband from former CM Jagan. Now, as reports suggest that she has quit YSRCP, her possible alliance with Jana Sena Party is being discussed around town. Her political career began in the Praja Rajyam Party, where she was an official spokesperson. After the merging of Praja Rajyam with Congress, she moved to YSRCP continuing the similar role there.
Strong relations of Padma with Pawan Kalyan and other leaders in the Jana Sena Party hint that she might prepare herself to be a member of their party as well. As Vasireddy Padma walks out, political gossip picks up speed over who follows in her footsteps. The latest attempts by the likes of Samineni Udayabhanu and Balineni to cross over to Jana Sena have become increasingly common whereas Mopidevi Venkataramana, who stepped down as MP, and Bita Mastan Rao have managed to enter the TDP fold. Reports also indicate that many MLAs are considering joining the TDP, and even murmurs are that two former ministers of the YSRCP may be contemplating a change as well. The given situation is truly fluid and is an example to be closely monitored in the future as these political alignments continue to change in Andhra Pradesh.
