Defections demoralise TDP

Visakhapatnam: All is not well with the TDP in Visakhapatnam district with defections to the YSRCP on one hand and differences among leaders on the other, dogging the party.

With several leaders quitting the party being on the rise causing worry to the party top brass. The party has received a blow when the kin of Adari Tulasi Rao, Chairman of Visakha Dairy, left it along with their supporters. Adari Anand, who unsuccessfully contested from Anakapalle Lok Sabha constituency on TDP ticket, joined the YSRCP along with his sister and others in the presence of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, recently.

Close on the heels of it, Ch Sanyasi Patrudu, the brother of TDP strongman and former minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, resigned from TDP along with his wife giving a jolt to the party.

Sanyasi Patrudu and his wife held key posts in Narsipatnam Municipality. Coincidentally, Sanyasi Patrudu announced his decision when his brother was celebrating his 63rd birthday in the presence of the party general secretary Nara Lokesh.

The exodus is certainly a cause for concern for the TDP which weathering the 'Jagan wave' in the last elections, could win a couple of seats in the district. The party, which drew a blank in several districts, won all the four city seats --- Visakhapatnam North, South, East and West constituencies -- though it received drubbing in the rest of the constituencies in the district.

While speaking to newsmen over the joining of Adari Anand into YSRCP, party Rajya Sabha member Vijaya Sai Reddy said that more surprises were in store, indicating joining of more leaders from the TDP.

Giving credence to the speculation that more TDP leaders may quit the party, former minister and Visakhapatnam North MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao is apparently not playing any active role in the party activities. Though he denies any plans to join other party, there is a buzz that he may switch. It is heard in political circles that Tourism Minister M Srinivasa Rao is stalling Ganta's entry into the YSRCP.

Adding to the woes of party, differences have cropped up among the party leaders as well. The gap between party city unit president S A Rahaman and Visakhapatnam South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar has widened with the former dashing a letter to the latter seeking explanation from the MLA for skipping party meetings.

Rahaman even complained to Nara Lokesh when he made a brief halt at Visakhapatnam airport on his way to Narsipatnam to take part in the 63rd birthday celebration of Ayyanna Patrudu. When contacted Rahman on the issue, he said Lokesh replied that it would be discussed at the next review meeting.

Against this backdrop, the joining of YSRCP leader in Araku, S D Dora in TDP along with others came as a breather for TDP president and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who, it seems, sees a light at the end of a tunnel. He termed the joining of Dora as a sign of people's frustration with the 100 days rule of the YSRCP.