YSRCP suspends 4 MLAs for violation of Whip in MLC elections in Andhra Pradesh

A day after the unexpected defeat of an MLC from the MLA quota elections in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling YSR Congress Party suspended four of its MLAs from the party, stating that they had violated the Whip

A day after the unexpected defeat of an MLC from the MLA quota elections in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling YSR Congress Party suspended four of its MLAs from the party, stating that they had violated the Whip. 

The YSRCP general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, at a press conference at the Assembly Media point on Friday, announced that the party was convinced in its internal inquiry and that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had taken the decision of suspending the four MLAs. Accordingly, Anam Ramanarayana Reddy (Venkatagiri Assembly Constituency), Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy (Udayagiri Assembly Constituency), Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy (Nellore Rural Assembly Constituency) and Vundvalli Sridevi (Tadikonda Assembly Constituency) were suspended from the party, he said. 

“The party is convinced that these four members had voted for the opposition TDP candidate instead of the YSRCP candidate in the MLA quota MLC elections held on March 23. As per the strength in the Assembly, we fielded seven candidates. Despite knowing that the TDP did not have the strength to win an MLC seat, they nominated their candidate. During our internal party inquiry, we found evidence that they had violated the Whip and voted for the TDP candidate. TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu poached them by paying at least ₹10 crore to ₹15 crore per MLA in this mind game,” Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said.

“The four suspended MLAs knew that they will not get a chance to contest again in 2024. Because, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had hinted that they were not performing well based on survey reports recently. This was another reason behind their shift in the loyalty,” he added.

Replying to a question, he said that the party did not consult the MLAs before suspending them and that it was not even needed. It was party’s internal issue, he maintained. 

“If they had issues within the party, there are other forums to negotiate with the party chief, but this is not the way to behave during election time. It clearly indicates that they decided to join the TDP and hence voted for that party,” he said.