Over 1100 politicians, mostly from TDP, switch over to YSR Congress

This mass exodus from TDP is a clear indication of the mood of the people of AP, claimed Jagan Mohan Reddy's political outfit.

Over 1,100 leaders, mainly from Telegu Desam Party (TDP), have switched over to Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress Party in the last month. These include many sitting MPs and MLAs from TDP, claimed YSR Congress in a release. 

“Following the success of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Praja Sankalpa Yatra, and the impact of YSRCP–I-PAC campaigns, such as Ninnu Nammam Babu, Jagan Anna Pilupu, Samara Shankaravam, etc., TDP leaders have been deserting their party and joining YSRCP in droves, for the last one month,” said the party.

“This mass exodus from TDP, and one-way traffic in to the YSRCP is a clear indication of the mood of the people of Andhra Pradesh,” it added.

Some of the top TDP leaders to join YSRCP last month are lawmakers Butta Renuka, Avanti Srinivas and P Ravindra Babu, and TDP founding members Dasari Jayaramesh and Duggubati Venkateshwara Rao. Other prominent leaders include MLAs Pulaparthy Narayanamurthy, Meda Mallikarjuna Reddy, Amanchi Krishnamohan, Varupula Subba Rao and SV Mohan Reddy, ex-TDP minister Adala Prabhakar Reddy,  ex-TDP MLAs Dadi Veerabhadra Rao and Kamala Kondru and TDP MLC Magunta Srinivasanu Reddy. 

“The trend of leaders deserting TDP and joining YSRCP is ongoing, even after the announcement of YSRCP’s candidate list on March 16,” said YSR Congress.

A total of 69 leaders at the Assembly Constituency level, 310 leaders at the Mandal level, and 752 leaders at the Village level have joined YSRCP in the last week.

Narsaraopet and Chittoor lead the list of Parliamentary Constituencies on the number of joinings, with 160 (11 Assembly level, 47 Mandal level, and 102 village level) and 132 (35 Mandal level and 97 village level) leaders respectively. 

This is followed by Ongole, Guntur, Vishakhapatnam, and Eluru with 118 (16 Assembly level, 9 Mandal level leaders, and 93 village level), 97 (7 Assembly level, 46 Mandal level, and 44 village level), 53 (2 Assembly level, 15 Mandal level, and 36 village level), and 52 (1 Assembly level, 6 Mandal level, 45 village level) leaders respectively.

The party claims that many more politicians from all levels are likely to join the party over the next couple of weeks. 

Leaders who joined YSRCP at various levels, by parliamentary constituencies:

Parliamentary Constituency	Assembly Level Leaders	Mandal Level Leaders	Village Level Leaders	Total
Srikakulam	4	0	0	4
Vizianagaram	1	7	21	29
Araku	0	5	4	9
Anakapalli	2	7	30	39
Visakhapatnam	2	15	36	53
Kakinada	0	15	18	33
Rajahmundry	0	6	8	14
Amalapuram	0	6	6	12
Narsapuram	2	6	41	49
Eluru	1	6	45	52
Vijayawada	2	9	9	20
Machilipatnam	4	10	16	30
Guntur	7	46	44	97
Narasaraopet	11	47	102	160
Bapatla	1	9	51	61
Ongole	16	9	93	118
Chittoor	0	35	97	132
Tirupati	5	4	41	50
Nellore	1	12	30	43
Kadapa	0	2	4	6
Kurnool	2	4	7	13
Nandyal	1	3	9	13
Rajampet	0	13	16	29
Anantapur	2	12	10	24
Hindupur	5	22	14	41
Total	69	310	752	1131