Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 29: In a major setback to the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh ruling party, the former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP, two of its Rajya Sabha members on Thursday resigned from the upper house and six more are in the pipeline with all the them set to switch over to the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) which swept the AP elections held along with the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.
The vice-president and chairman of the Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar has accepted the resignations of the two YSRCP members, Mopidevi Venkataramana and Beda Mastan Rao. While Mr Venkataramana’s term in Rajya Sabha was till June 2026, Mr Rao’s was till June 2028. The two leaders recently met TDP chief and Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu after which they decided to resign and are likely to be re-elected as the TDP candidates. It will help the TDP to open its accounts in the Upper House where it did not have a seat since 2019.
After the two resignations, the YSRCP now has nine members in the Rajya Sabha and four in the Lok Sabha. But with at least six more RS members believed to be planning to cross over to the TDP, the position of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which just touched the majority mark in the Upper House with the election unopposed of 11 of its members earlier this week, would be further strengthened.
Mr Rao was earlier with the TDP and represented Andhra’s Kavali constituency from 2009 to 2014. In 2019, he joined the YSRCP. Mr Venkataramana, on the other hand, was with the Congress. He is a two-time MLA who has served as a state minister in the government of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s father, late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
The exits are a fresh blow to Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party that has been struggling to check an exodus of leaders in the aftermath of the poll setback. Managing just four Lok Sabha seats this time and its Rajya Sabha strength dropping, YSRCP’s influence in Delhi is on the wane.
Mr Venkataramana, it is reported, was not keen on Rajya Sabha post from the start, but it was thrust on him. He was defeated in the 2019 elections but was inducted into then Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s cabinet. As the State government at the time decided to abolish the AP Legislative Council, he was made an RS member.
Mr Venkataramana hoped to contest from Repalle constituency in the 2024 general elections but was denied a ticket. Mr Jagan Reddy also reportedly did not accept the request to field Mr Venkataramana’s brother instead of Evuru Ganesh from Repalle Assembly constituency. Mr Venkataramana later met his cadre and sympathisers at his constituency, and also announced that he had discussions with TDP leaders over joining their party.
Mr Mastan Rao is yet to announce his future plans and according to sources, six more YSRCP RS members are likely to submit their resignations shortly.
In June, soon after the drubbing in the general elections Mr Jagan Reddy reminded the NDA that his party has 15 MPs in Parliament, while asserting that his party would extend issue-based support keeping the State and nation’s interests in mind. The current resignations, and likely of six more resignations, and disgruntlement in the party may mar his plans to wield pressure on the NDA which is keen on increasing its strength in the Rajya Sabha.
After the YSRCP came to power in the state in 2019, YSRCP leaders were elected to the Rajya Sabha in all 11 seats in the three-phase elections. In terms of numerical strength, it became the fourth largest party in the Rajya Sabha.
The retirement of the YSRCP RS members is scheduled up to April 1, 2030. The retirement of three members, including Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Parimal Nathwani and Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, are due on June 21, 2026. S. Niranjan Reddy, V. Vijayasai Reddy and. Krishnaiah in June 2028. The remaining members — Y.V. Subba Reddy, Meda Raghunadha Reddy and Golla Baburao — will retire in April 2030.