If a speculative news carried by a Telugu television news channel is to be believed, once-upon-a-time firebrand YSR Congress party leader and former minister R K Roja Selvamani is likely to shift her base to Tamil Nadu and enter politics there.
According to these reports, Roja will make a grand entry into Tamil Nadu politics by joining the new political party Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) launched by popular hero Vijay very soon.
She is expected to settle down in Chennai and contest the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu from a constituency closer to Andhra border, where her original constituency Nagari in Tirupati district is located.
Apparently, Roja is disgusted with Andhra politics, as she did not get the expected respect and treatment in the state – whether it was in the Telugu Desam Party in the past or the YSR Congress party in the recent past.
Though YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had given her due respect by inducting her into the cabinet, she had to battle a stiff opposition from within the party in her constituency.
Leaders like former Nagari municipal chairperson K L Shanti and her husband K.J. Kumar, Srisailam Trust Board chairman Reddyvari Chakrapani Reddy and Lakshmipati Raju of Vijayapuram, Puttur municipal member Elumalai, and their supporters vehemently opposed her in the constituency.
Roja was also not taking kindly the frequent intervention of senior YSRCP leader and former minister Peddireddy Mithun Reddy in her constituency and his encouragement to her opponents.
After she lost the assembly elections with a huge margin, Roja has gone completely silent, except for some statements in the initial days. Of late, she has not been seen or heard in the party.
Maybe, that led to the speculations that Roja might be shifting her political base to Tamil Nadu to join the party of Vijay, with whom her husband Selvamani has very good equations.
