The YSRCP, which was routed in the general elections held in May this year, received a big blow in Visakhapatnam on 21 July as seven corporators quit the party and joined the TDP in the presence of party leaders Palla Srinivasa Rao, M Sribharat and Ganta Srinivasa Rao. Some more corporators are likely to follow the suit soon.
The party corporators who switched loyalties from YSRCP to TDP in Visakhapatnam were Saripalli Govind (ward 25), K Hanok (ward 45), B Narasimha Patrudu (ward 65), Illapu Varalakshmi (ward 85), L Apparao (ward 11), R Ramarao (ward 71) and K Appalaratnam (ward 30).
Jana Sena Party leader and Visakha South MLA Vamsikrishna Srinivas, who was also present, said that several YSRCP corporators were ready to join the JSP and they would be taken into party fold in the presence of JSP chief Pawan Kalyan. According to him, corporators A Leelavathi, K Kameswari, P Ushasri, B Surya Kumari have decided to join JSP.
With the defection of the seven YSRCP corporators to the TDP, the YSRCP strength in the council dropped to 51 from 58, while that of the TDP went up to 37 from 30.
While the JSP has three corporators in the council, it was followed by BJP, CPI(M) and CPI one each. The strength of independents is four and they have been extending support to the YSRCP.
Sensing trouble, former Minister Gudivada Amarnath and Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari held a meeting with the party corporators on 20 July in a bid to stop exodus. Over 20 corporators reportedly skipped the meeting giving a clear signal to the party.
The TDP has launched this ‘operation aakarsh’ with an eye on mayorship. The magic figure required to wrest the mayorship is 59 including ex-officio members and the TDP-led alliance is confident of achieving the target.
This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu.
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