The seat sharing negotiations between TDP and BJP have thrown open the party hopping options in Andhra Pradesh with another YSRCP MP, this time from Rajya Sabha, Vemireddy Prabhakara Reddy quitting the ruling party despite being in contention for the Nellore MP seat.

He is likely to head for TDP and so is another MP Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu of Narasaraopet who was asked to contest the Guntur seat by the YSRCP. BJP’s presence has inspired confidence in the TDP-Jana Sena alliance enough to trigger an exodus in coming days since the ruthless dropping of sitting MPs and MLAs and the swapping of seats in the name of social engineering has not gone down well among the ruling party leaders.

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After Nitish Kumar it is now the turn of another old ally – N Chandrababu Naidu and his party TDP to be quietly inducted back into NDA ahead of Lok Sabha Polls. Although the BJP’s central leadership had vowed that Naidu would never be welcomed back after he ditched their alliance in 2018, it acquiesced when the shrewd politician offered more Lok Sabha seats to the national party. The BJP is quite desperate to win seats in Southern India where it does not have much toehold.

Even in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP had a vote share of over 7 per cent in 2014 when it was in alliance with TDP but it dipped below one per cent in 2019 when it went alone. However, its slender vote share notwithstanding it is considered as a king maker in AP since it is the ruling party at the Centre. In 2019, when the TDP had quit the NDA, a strict Election Commission had kept the state administration on its toes with Chandrababu Naidu failing to wring any advantage though he was the incumbent chief minister.

Distribution of cash and liquor before elections are of paramount importance for political parties to win the simultaneous polls.

Even six months back, the TDP- Jana Sena combine looked weak, particularly with Naidu incarcerated while YS Jagan Mohan Reddy appeared well entrenched, thanks to the popularity of his welfare schemes in the rural belt. But the presence of BJP inspired enough confidence among the rebels in YSRCP to seek a way out.

Vemireddy Prabhakara Reddy, the latest MP to quit was said to be unhappy with the nominations in several Assembly seats in Nellore. Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu, a sitting MP had quit after being asked to swap seats. Kurnool MP Sanjeev Kumar and Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry had also quit after being denied tickets. After seven lists released by the YSRCP, more MPs and MLAs are tipped to be ready to ditch the party with YS Jagan Mohan Reddy going ahead with his plan to give nominations to more candidates from BC, SC and ST communities.