Jolt to YSRCP as RS MP Prabhakar Reddy quits, likely to join TDP

Amaravati: In a jolt to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) ahead of elections, MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy on Wednesday resigned from the party and also from Rajya Sabha.

In a letter to party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said he was resigning as YSRCP’s Nellore district president and also from the primary membership of the party due to personal reasons.

Prabhakar Reddy also issued a statement that he was resigning as member of Rajya Sabha due to personal reasons.

He has not announced his future course of action but he is likely to join Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Prabhakar Reddy had announced in the past that he would contest forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from Nellore constituency. However, he felt sidelined by the party in selecting candidates for Assembly elections.

The MP was sore that the party leadership did not even inform him about its decision to appoint M. D. Khaleel as the coordinator for Nellore city. He had recently distanced himself from the party activities.

Prabhakar Reddy is one of the three Rajya Sabha members from the state who will be retiring soon.

All three candidates of YSRCP were on Tuesday declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.

Prabhakar Reddy’s resignation dealt another blow to YSRCP in Nellore district. The party lost a couple of MLAs to the TDP last year.

He is the fourth MP to quit YSRCP since last month. Narasaraopet MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu, Kurnool MP Sanjeev Kumar and Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashwory resigned from the party last month after the party denied them tickets for coming elections.

Simultaneous elections to Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha are likely to be held in April-May.