Ahead of polls, TD nominees for ZPTC seat, two MPTC seats joins YSRC

NELLORE: In a setback to the Opposition Telugu Desam and shot in the arm for ruling YSR Congress, a TD candidate for the ZPTC seat from Balayapalli in Nellore district, Ravi Devika Chowdary, joined the YSRC on Monday.

In addition to Devika, TD nominees Maddur Saidamma from the Balayapalli MPTC seat and Chandramouli from Vengamambapuram MPTC migrated to the ruling party. It effectively meant they had dropped out of the elections. All three of them had been with TD since more than three decades. They switched over at the instance of Venkatagiri legislator Anam Ramanarayana Reddy.

With this move, YSRC has bagged one ZPTC seat and two MPTC seats unanimously in the district.

TTD chairman Y. V. Subba Reddy, Deputy CM Narayana Swamy, ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, apart from Ramanarayana Reddy felicitated the new entrants at Balayapalli on Monday. TD sources say this is quite likely to prompt many other TD candidates into following suit.

Addressing media later during his campaign at Saidapuram, the ruling party legislator said TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has murdered his own party with his decision of boycotting ZPTC, MPTC polls. He accused Naidu of compromising on principles of NTR, who founded TD to protect the pride of Telugu people.

Stressing that no other political party across the globe has committed such a mistake of boycotting elections after being in fray, Ramanarayana Reddy said “Naidu has proved the proverb that there are no murders in politics, except suicides.”

The Venkatagiri legislator appealed to all YSR Congress cadres to console their TD counterparts and invite them to join YSRC party’s welfare activities in Andhra Pradesh.