It has been four days since YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy addressed the media, accusing the party’s former general secretary and ex-Rajya Sabha member V Vijay Sai Reddy of being "sold out" to Telugu Desam Party president and current chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Ordinarily, one would expect Sai Reddy to respond strongly to such a serious allegation from his former boss.
In the past, the former MP was quick to counter Jagan’s remarks, especially those questioning his credibility and integrity and claiming he had left the party out of fear.
This time, however, Sai Reddy has remained silent for four days.
A day after Jagan’s press conference, a statement in Sai Reddy’s name began circulating on social media. It appeared to be a sharp rebuttal to Jagan, threatening further revelations about Raj Kesireddy and the liquor scam during the YSRCP’s tenure.
However, Sai Reddy swiftly denied issuing any such statement. He clarified that he had not made any public comments and that any future remarks would be made only through his official handle on X (formerly Twitter).
The question now is: why has Sai Reddy refrained from denying Jagan’s allegations? His silence has led to speculation that he may have, in fact, succumbed to pressure from Naidu, if not explicitly aligned with him.
Sources suggest that while Sai Reddy initially intended to issue a strong rebuttal, he was compelled to stay silent after the YSRCP’s social media team leaked a video showing him in a secret meeting with TDP leader T D Janardhan Rao.
The meeting reportedly took place in March, just a day before Sai Reddy appeared before the CID and made claims related to the liquor scam.
Although Janardhan Rao is considered a marginal figure in today’s TDP and has been sidelined by party general secretary Nara Lokesh’s team due to alleged misconduct, he is still publicly perceived as a senior leader close to Naidu.
This perception helped YSRCP leaders link Sai Reddy’s meeting with Rao to Naidu’s influence. They used this video to reinforce the claim that Sai Reddy had aligned himself with the TDP and that his subsequent statements on the liquor scam were politically motivated.
With the video serving as apparent evidence, YSRCP leaders believe they have successfully discredited Sai Reddy and backed Jagan’s accusations. As a result, Sai Reddy now finds himself unable to effectively defend or refute the claims, sources said.
