The Telangana TDP received another great shock when its Qutubullapur MLA KP Vivekanand Goud today defected to the ruling TRS.
There is also speculation about two more TDP legislators joining the TRS within the next few days.
Goud joined the TRS in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao who welcomed him to the Party with a shawl. The MLA also sent his resignation letter (from the TDP) to Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, and also to the TDP office.
Speaking to the media later, Goud said that after the GHMC elections it was established that the people were strongly in support of the TRS. The people liked the welfare programmes of the TRS and that gave him inspiration to join the Party, he claimed.
He further said that he had worked with KCR earlier, and felt that working with KCR would help him do better justice to the people.
Goud also said that the TDP was no doubt a good Party, but after the bifurcation of the State its leader Chandrababu Naidu had confined himself to Andhra Pradesh, and was not taking interest in the problems of Telangana. TDP workers in Telangana were worried about the Party's position in the State after Naidu became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, he claimed.
In the meantime, reliable sources said that two more TDP legislators were preparing to join the TRS in the next 2-3 days. If this happens, the TDP might be left with only four or five MLAs in the State.
It is said that following the Warangal by-election and the GHMC election results, some of the TDP leaders have been feeling that if they wanted to continue to be politically relevant, it would be possible only in the ruling Party.