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In a recent roadshow conducted by a Telugu news channel, one of the respondents said that so many Congressmen from Seemandhra (coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions) had joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that he was at a loss to say whether it was TDP or the Congress party.
Facing flak for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh by the Union government, Congress leaders from Seemandhra, mostly those who want to contest in the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assembly, are quitting the party and joining not only TDP but other parties like YSR Congress (YSRCP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to a political analyst, this is perhaps the first time in the history of Andhra Pradesh (AP) that so many people had left a ruling party on the eve of elections. This showed how bleak the electoral prospects of the Congress in Seemandhra after the enactment of the AP Reorganisation Bill by the Parliament.
In the past one month, out of the 20-odd ministers belonging to Seemandhra in the Kiran Kumar Reddy Cabinet, six had quit Congress and joined TDP. They are Thota Narasimham, Shatrucharla Vijayarama Raju, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, TG Venkatesh, Erasu Pratap Reddy and Galla Aruna Kumari.
Other leaders, who have served as ministers in earlier Congress governments, have also deserted the party in the recent past. These include JC Diwakar Reddy, G Kuthuhalamma and Dharmana Prasada Rao. DL Ravindra Reddy from Kadapa, who is also a former minister, indicated that he would join TDP this week.
Thanks to the division of the state, the chief minister himself had quit the Congress party in protest and floated his own political outfit called Jai Samaikyandhra Party. Five expelled Congress MPs are sailing with this party.
This apart, former Union minister, D Purandeshwari, has joined BJP. There are also indications that another Union minister, Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, is planning to quit the party.
