YSR Congress MLA from Paderu constituency Giddi Eswari joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at his residence at Undavalli near here on Monday. With this, 23 MLAs had crossed over to the Telugu Desam from the YSRC.
Mr. Naidu said anyone interested in serving the people could walk along with the party. It was not just political leaders. The party would invite people from all walks of life to join hands with it in developing the State. The MLAs from other political parties were eager to join the TDP as they realised that development was possible only under the Telugu Desam rule. “I am happy that leaders from various political parties are joining the Telugu Desam for development of the State,” he said. The government was taking up many welfare activities in agency areas and giving top priority to the tribals. Araku coffee was being exported across the globe. The government objective was to create a brand for it. The tribals were earning good income through its cultivation, he said. Ms. Eswari said the YSR Congress had cheated her. The party said ticket would be given only if the contestant had enough money to spend. “Though it is painful to desert the YSRC which gave me a political life, there is no alternative,” she said.
Explaining the reasons for her exit, Ms. Eswari said the YSRC was relying heavily on corporate style politics. The party was doing injustice to those who pinned hopes on it. “None, including YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, responded to my plea to do justice and hurt my self respect, which forced me to part ways with the party,” she claimed.