TDP suffers fresh setback in Telangana, party MLA joins TRS

Hyderabad, Feb 9: In a fresh setback to TDP in Telangana after the rout in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls, party MLA from Qutbullapur here K P Vivekananda Goud today joined the ruling TRS.

"People are with TRS (as seen in GHMC election results). They want us to work for overall development (of Telangana). I worked in TRS earlier," Goud, wearing a TRS 'Khanduva' (a cloth worn around the neck), said.

TRS led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has scored a massive victory in the Hyderabad civic elections by winning 99 out of the 150 wards.

Congress and TDP-BJP combined suffered humiliating defeat as they could win just two, one and four wards respectively.

With TDP President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu shifting base to Vijayawada, there is a leadership vacuum for TDP in Telangana, Goud claimed. Goud is the latest TDP MLA from the city to switch loyalty to the TRS.

Earlier, T Srinivas Yadav (who has been made a minister), Teegala Krishna Reddy, G Sayanna and M Kishan Reddy are among the TDP MLAs who crossed over to TRS.

Some Congress and YSR Congress MLAs have also switched loyalty to the TRS after the KCR government assumed office in June 2014. Disqualification petitions (of these MLAs) filed by their parent parties have been pending with the Legislative Assembly Speaker S Madhusudanachary.

Condemning the TRS in admitting opposition MLAs into its fold despite having majority in the Assembly, Telangana TDP president L Ramana demanded that the TRS leadership make such MLAs seek re-election.

Telangana TDP's working president A Revant Reddy alleged that the opposition MLAs have been threatened by the TRS government into joining its fold.

PTI