The ruling Congress party in the state on Thursday received a rude shock with the intelligence reports that at least 24 MLAs are likely to jump the fence to join YSR Congress party in the coming days.

The intelligence authorities are learnt to have identified the MLAs and submitted a report to the ruling party on their moves. However, there may not be any en masse resignation of these MLAs, since there is every possibility that assembly speaker Nadendla Manohar sitting over them for an indefinite period. So, they would resign in a phased manner, while extending open support to Jagan, much to the embarrassment of the Congress leadership.

On Thursday, Kakinada MLA Dwarampudi Chandrasekhara Reddy, who had earlier dumped Jagan to get back into the Congress party, went back into the YSR Congress party fold. He met Jagan’s mother and party honorary president Y S Vijayalakshmi in her election campaign and extended his solidarity with her. He declared that he would continue to sail with YSR family.

Watch out for more defections in the coming days.