The Telugu Desam Party received a major setback in Guntur district when its key leader Annabathuni Shivakumar, son of former Minister Annabathuni Satyanarayana, quit the party and joined YSR Congress Party in the presence of its president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Shivakumar is a prominent leader in Tenali of Guntur district and runs an educational institution.
Along with a large number of his followers, Shivakumar joined YSRCP at Jagan's Lotus Pond residence.
In another development, the PCC Chief Botsa Satyanarayana received a jolt in his home district of Vizianagaram when an important Congress leader Meesala Varahala Naidu quit the Congress and joined YSRCP in the presence of Jagan at the latter's residence.
Varahala Naidu is considered a close confidant of Botsa and is from Cheepurupalli in Vizianagaram district. His wife Sarojini had recently contested the Panchayat elections as an independent and won as sarpanch of Cheepurupalli major panchayat with a huge majority.
