Defections from the YSR Congress Party continue unabated with more and more of its MLAs changing their loyalties and joining the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh.
Srisailam MLA Budda Rajasekhar Reddy is the latest addition to the growing list of defectors to the TDP. With this, so far 16 MLAs have quit the YSR Congress and joined the TDP.
TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu formally welcomed Rajasekhar Reddy by offering him a party shawl at a public meeting in Tadepalli today. Araku MLA Sarveshwar Rao, ex-MLA Gandi Babji and others are also likely to join the TDP.
Speaking at the meeting, Rajasekhar Reddy said that he had decided to work under Naidu for the development of his constituency.
He alleged that there was no internal democracy in the YSR Congress.
"I decided to join the TDP because we cannot do justice to the people by continuing in the YSR Congress," he said
Speaking himself at the meeting, Naidu promised that Rayalaseema would be developed as a "ratnala seema". The CM said that he would take up the responsibility of completing all projects in Rayalaseema.
"Industries are coming to this region and it will be developed as a solar hub," he said.
He alleged that the YSR Congress was unable to digest the pace of development, and wanted to do injustice to the region by opposing the Pattiseema project.
Reacting to the Rs 1 lakh crore corruption allegations by Jagan, Naidu asked Jagan to show where the corruption had taken place. Since the former was involved in crime of such proportions, he was assuming that even others were capable of it, Naidu said.