Key leaders from Jana Sena Party (JSP) and Telugu Desam (TDP) joined the ruling YSR Congress party (YSRCP) in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at Gantavaripalem in Palnadu district on Wednesday, April 10.
Pothina Mahesh, Janasena's Constituency In-Charge from Vijayawada West, former MLA and JSP leader Pamula Rajeswari Devi joined YSRCP as they were upset with seat allocation within their parties. Rayachoti TDP in-charge R Ramesh Kumar Reddy also joined YSRCP on Wednesday.
Mahesh decided to join YSRCP after he was unhappy with the JSP’s decision over the allocation of the Vijayawada West seat to YS Sujana Chowdhury of BJP in the wake of the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance. He accused Pawan Kalyan of betraying the Kapu community by aligning with the Kamma-dominated TDP. “The Kapu community supports Pawan Kalyan in whatever he does. Please stop betraying us. The seat sharing arrangement exposes a hidden truth. We can see who is dominating the party,” Mahesh said, referring to the TDP speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.
Both Pawan Kalyan and Pothina Mahesh belong to Kapu Community. Mahesh's resignation could be seen as a blow to JSP's vote share among the Kapu community which has been historically at odds with the Kamma community in Vijayawada district.
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As a part of the alliance, out of the total 175 Assembly seats, TDP will contest 144 seats, while BJP and JSP will contest 21 and 10 seats respectively. Out of 25 Lok Sabha seats, TDP is set to contest in 17, BJP in six and JSP in the remaining seats. The polling for both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections is set to take place on May 13 in Andhra Pradesh.
On the other hand, Pamula Rajeshwari Devi, who served as P Gannavaram MLA in 2004 and 2009 from the Congress Party, decided to switch sides after being denied a ticket by Janasena for the upcoming elections despite her expectations. Despite the constituency being secured as part of the alliance, Pamula Rajeshwari was sidelined when the ticket was given to Giddi Satyanarayana.
For 2024 assembly elections, TDP decided to field Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy in Rayachoti over R Ramesh Reddy, its incharge for the constituency. R Ramesh Reddy contested from Rayachoti in 2014 and 2019 from TDP and lost.