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INDIA

TDP melts down in Rajya Sabha, four of its six

members cross over to BJP
While BJP new working president J P Nadda welcomed the TDP MPs into party, Chandrababu
Naidu said they have ‘personal agenda’.
Written by Sreenivas Janyala, Lalmani Verma | • Hyderabad |
Updated: June 21, 2019 4:25:35 am

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in Rajya Sabha

TDP MPs Chowdary, Venkatesh and Ramesh join the BJP in New Delhi Thursday in the presence of J P Nadda,
Thaawarchand Gehlot and Bhupender Yadav. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)

Swept out of power in Andhra Pradesh and handed a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, the
TDP took another big hit Thursday as four of its six Rajya Sabha MPs joined the BJP while chief
N Chandrababu Naidu was holidaying in Europe with his family.

Hours before BJP’s new working president J P Nadda welcomed them into the party fold at a
press conference in New Delhi, the four TDP MPs — Y Satyanarayana Chowdary, C M Ramesh, T
G Venkatesh and Garikapati Mohan Rao — announced their decision to merge with the BJP
“with immediate effect”.

In a series of tweets later, Chandrababu Naidu accused the MPs of pursuing “their own
personal agendas” and said the crisis will not affect his party.
 EXPLAINED

Regional churn after Lok Sabha polls

The defection in the TDP’s Rajya Sabha ranks re ects a churn among regional out ts
and alliances after the Lok Sabha elections, which was dominated by the BJP. The SP-
BSP alliance in UP has collapsed, the ruling Cong-JDS tie-up in Karnataka is in tatters
and there is disquiet within the RJD in Bihar. This gives rise to the key question: Is there
more to come?

Since the TDP has only six members in Rajya Sabha, the four teamed up to avoid the anti-
defection law. The MPs said they were informing Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu
about their decision. Their move to cross over is a shot in the arm for the BJP which lacks
numbers in Rajya Sabha — its strength will rise from 71 to 75 in the 245-member House.

“Inspired and encouraged by the impeccable leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji and the
developmental policies being pursued by him in the overall interest of the nation, we have
decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with immediate effect under Paragraph
4 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India,” their resolution stated.

Venkatesh said: “For the sake of development of my Rayalaseema region, I want to join the BJP.
People all over the country want only Modi. We also want only BJP. The BJP also wants to
increase its members in Rajya Sabha, so I agreed when they said it would be mutually
bene cial if I join the BJP. It will take some time to complete the formalities. Obviously, I will
quit TDP.’’

A Minister of State in the rst Modi government before the TDP parted ways, Chowdary said:
“We have seen the great work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. After
seeing the development work done by this government, we decided to join BJP and build a
great nation. I have experienced how this government functions when I was MoS for three-and-
half years. We also want to work for development of Andhra Pradesh which has suffered a lot
after its bifurcation.”

After the MPs deserted him, Chandrababu Naidu took to Twitter: “All my life, I have strived for
the good of people and will continue to do so regardless of being in power or not. TDP MPs
joining BJP today is the result of my ght for AP’s rights. They had their own personal agendas
to address.”
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“These crises situations are not new to me, not new to the party. Earlier, many said TDP is dead.
Many said TDP is a closed chapter. Many said leaders are deserting the party and that it will be
gone and buried. We never gave up. We came back. We have lakhs of Karyakarthas and crores
of Telugu people behind us. History will repeat itself. There is nothing to worry
#TDPWillBeBack,” he posted.

At a press conference in New Delhi, Nadda welcomed the TDP MPs and said the BJP had given
approval to the merger and the MPs were now BJP members. He said he was sure their
induction will strengthen the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.

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Home / India / TDP Melts Down In Rajya Sabha, Four Of Its Six Members Cross Over To BJP

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