In an attempt to gain a psychological edge over the YSR Congress party following the recent Nandyal assembly by-elections and Kakinada municipal corporation elections, the ruling Telugu Desam Party appears to be desperate to engineer defection of more and more YSRC leaders.
During the visit of TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to Kurnool district to participate in the Muchchumarri lift irrigation scheme inauguration on Friday, there were attempts to invite several YSRC leaders and also those from other parties into the TDP.
While it was expected that former MLA Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy, who recently wound up his Rayalaseema Parirakshana Samithi (RPS), would join the TDP, there were other leaders from YSRC for whom the TDP leadership contacted for defection.
Sources said the local TDP leaders belonging to deputy chief minister K E Krishnamurthy tried to rope in SRCP district convener Gouru Venkat Reddy and his wife Panyam MLA Gouru Charitha Reddy into the TDP, so as to prevent Byreddy from joining the TDP. But Venkat Reddy did not evince any interest.
Similarly, there was also an attempt to bring Mantralayam MLA Bala Nagi Reddy into the party. Bala Nagi Reddy was originally in the TDP, but he later defected to the YSRC to win the Mantralayam seat.
The TDP leadership also tried to bring Nandyal YSRCP leader and central executive member of the party M Reddy Rajagopal Reddy into the TDP. Rajagopal Reddy is the nephew of Nandyal MP S P Y Reddy.
However, none of these leaders joined the TDP.
