YSR Congress Party President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually paved the way for the defection of party MP from Ongole, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, to the Telugu Desam Party on Friday.
Jagan inaugurated the distribution of registered conveyance deeds to 31.19 lakh poor women beneficiaries under the 'Navratanalu Pedalandariki Illu' Scheme at N Agraharam in Ongole town, under the auspices of local MLA Balineni Srinivas Reddy.
Despite being the local MP, Magunta did not receive an invitation from the party for this prestigious meeting. Although he expressed his desire to attend, local party leaders sent him a clear message not to come, fearing it would anger Jagan.
In fact, Magunta has been sidelined by the party ever since Jagan indicated to Balineni that there was no chance of giving the party ticket to the MP again. At one point, Jagan even threatened to drop Balineni if he insisted on giving the MP ticket to Magunta.
It appears that the chief minister was upset with Magunta regarding the Delhi liquor scam, where he and his son Raghav Reddy allegedly implicated Aurobindo Pharma group director Sharath Chandra Reddy.
Despite this, Magunta did not openly disclose his intention to defect to the TDP and tried to give the impression that he would remain in the party. Even when Jagan visited Delhi on February 9, Magunta attempted to greet him, but the chief minister did not acknowledge him.
With the YSRCP excluding Magunta from the chief minister’s meeting, it is evident that he has been shown the door. Magunta has taken the hint that there is no place for him in the party.
It is expected that in a day or two, Magunta will officially leave the YSRCP and join the TDP. Sources indicate that he is likely to receive the TDP ticket from Ongole once again.
