Three leaders of the Jana Sena Congress faction, who recently quit the party, will join the Jana Sena in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan at the party office in Mangalagiri on Thursday.
Former minister Balini Srinivas Reddy from Ongole, former government floor leader Sammineni Udaya Bhanu from Jaggaiyappeta, former state legislator Kirali Rosaiah and a host of their supporters will join the Jana Sena.
Well, it has become commonplace for politicians these days to jump from one party to another to safeguard their political interests, but if there is a larger purpose behind party hopping, it is controversial.
Sources say the main reason for Sammineni Udaya Bhanu’s defection to the Jana Sena was to protect her close relative Dontileddy Vasudeva Reddy, former managing director of AP State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL), who is deeply implicated in the alleged liquor scam.
It was discovered that Vasudeva Reddy’s brother-in-law was married to Udaya Bhanu’s daughter. It was a love marriage and Vasudeva Reddy used Udaya Bhanu’s influence in the YSRCP to get a key position in Jagan’s government.
Within days of the TDP and its allies coming to power, a case was registered against Vasudeva Reddy for destroying crucial evidence and taking away documents and hard disks related to the alleged liquor scam from the APSBCL headquarters hours after the election results.
Now, Udaya Banu’s only option to get his son-in-law released from jail is to quit the YSRCP and join the NDA. He cannot join the TDP as he has been a harsh critic of TDP president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu till recently and hence has opted to join the Jana Sena Party.
Rumours are that Udaya Bhanu joined the Jana Sena Party after Vasudeva Reddy became an approver in the liquor scam and he got an assurance that he could assist the top YSRCP leader in the government.
Similarly, Balineni has joined the Jana Sena not just to safeguard his own political interests but also the business interests of his associates in Visakhapatnam.
Apparently, Jagan had cancelled a contract given to one of Balineni’s close aides in Vizag and hence the former minister is planning to revive it by joining the Jana Sena, sources said.