TDP jolted as 4 of 6 MPs in RS join BJP

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu suffered a major jolt as four of the six party’s Rajya Sabha MPs split and joined BJP. The development, which came at a time when Naidu is in Europe, saw former Union minister Y S Chowdary, C M Ramesh, T G Venkatesh and G Mohan Rao announcing their decision to join BJP and appearing at the BJP office. The four MPs add to BJP’s numbers in the Rajya Sabha, taking the tally to 75. Of these, Chowdary and Ramesh in particular looked after Naidu’s operations in Delhi having been influential members of TDP for several years. They are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and income tax authorities. The defection hit an already weakened TDP that had lost the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh comprehensively.