A major blow for YSR Congress Party(YCP) chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, two Rajya Sabha MPs have quit their party and their Rajya Sabha memberships also. The Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has reportedly accepted their resignations as per the PTI.
Earlier expelled members of the parliament Mopidevi Venkataramana and Beda Mastan Rao’s tenures were till June 2026 and June 2028, respectively. The two are expected to defect to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by N Chandrababu Naidu, who recently won the Andhra Pradesh polls that were conducted concurrently with the general polls. Both leaders have already met recently with TDP chief Naidu.
With these departures, the YSRCP has reduced its strength in the Upper House to nine MPs while continuing to be four in the Lok Sabha. The former YSRCP MPs are expected to join the TDP again in the Rajya Sabha, which would give the TDP a chance to regain its representation after losing it in 2019.
Rao was the MLA for Andhra’s Kavali constituency when he was with the TDP from 2009 until 2014 and switched over to the YSRCP in 2019. The Tarigonda Venkataramana was a member of the Congress party, and he became a state minister when the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
These resignations raise a new test for Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party, as the leadership crisis within the party continues to haunt it due to its poor showing in elections. Down from seven, the party has got four seats this time in the Lok Sabha, has been depleted in the Rajya Sabha, and seems to be losing out in Delhi as well.
In a wider perspective, it might come in handy for the BJP to have these incidents to affirm its populist image. The NDA recently crossed majority in Upper House, and if these two MPs switched their alliance to TDP, then it’s beneficial for them as it will enable them to pass some crucial bills.
