Andhra Pradesh

Is TDP’s Gannavaram MLA Vamsi taking off to the YSRCP?

One thing is clear. Vallabhaneni Vamsi, the Telugu Desam MLA from Gannavaram near Vijayawada, is not telling the entire truth. He resigned from the TDP, both as MLA and as a primary member of the party and even said he is quitting politics. But not everyone in the TDP is convinced that is the path he will follow. 

“There is confusion. There is no clarity on what Vamsi will do next,” said Rajendra Prasad, a senior TDP leader to a Telugu news channel. 

This is because before making his dramatic announcement, he met both chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy and BJP MP YS Chowdary. Though the latter described the meeting as only a courtesy visit, Vamsi was accompanied by two senior ministers to his meeting with the CM. 

So has Vamsi resigned in keeping with Jagan’s resolve that he will not follow in Chandrababu Naidu’s footsteps and poach MLAs in violation of the anti-defection law and that any elected member who wants to join YSRCP will have to resign first? Will he be contesting a byelection from Gannavaram on the YSRCP ticket? Or has he been made an alternate political offer that may see him being sent either to the Rajya Sabha or the Legislative Council?

There is another angle as well. Cases were slapped on Vamsi by revenue officials after they noticed alleged fake house pattas issued to 12000 people in Gannavaram ahead of elections. Was the meeting with Jagan an attempt to wriggle out of the cases?

For some time now, Vamsi has been keeping off TDP affairs, setting off speculation that it was a matter of time before he switched sides. During the last assembly session, Jagan had openly warned Naidu that many TDP MLAs were in touch with him and Vamsi’s meeting only confirms that. 

So will Vamsi walk into the YSRCP? Why it is not 100 per cent certain is because there is local YSRCP opposition to his entry within the constituency and Jagan may have a headache reconciling differences. Two, in his resignation letter, Vamsi does not have charitable words for the party in power. 

He wrote : “Having been elected again as a legislator, me and my associates and followers are in neck deep troubles due to the vindictive attitude of local YSRCP incharge and partisan attitude of some government employees.”

Naidu has attempted to do damage control by appealing to Vamsi not to take a hasty decision. 

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