Rajya Sabha member and key leader in the party Vijayasai Reddy’s silence after the party’s disastrous defeat in the recent polls raising eyebrows among YSRCP leadership. Many believe that it was due to his dissent with the party top leaders.
Soon after the party’s humiliating defeat in the polls, Jaganmohan Reddy convened a Parliamentary party meeting and announced YV Subba Reddy as the Parliamentary Party leader and Vijayasai Reddy was confined to the Rajya Sabha.
Vijayasai Reddy said to be shocked with this announcement and since then he seems to be silent. His frequent spicy social media postings on political opponents are also not missing. In the recent Parliament session also practically no coordination was seen among YCP MPs.
He has emerged as the No 2 in the YSRCP from the beginning, till it gained power in 2019. Being the No 2 accused in all CBI and ED cases against former chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, he was considered as a main adviser to the party chief in all his financial transactions.
Besides the party’s political strategies, he had also cultivated close rapport with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), even when TDP was part of NDA during 2014 and 2019. The main reason for Chandrababu Naidu’s desertion from the NDA in 2018 was PMO’s close proximity with the YCP.
Being the Parliamentary leader of the party, he used to maintain good rapport with key officials in the Modi government and also union minister, more than BJP’s alliance partner TDP leadership. However, after Jaganmohan Reddy became chief minister, new power centers started playing a key role.
While Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy became the key power center within the government, YC Subba Reddy became the focus point in the party affairs. As a result Vijayasai Reddy was confined to Delhi and Northern Andhra party affairs. After some time, he was shifted to Nellore and Prakasam districts.
In the recent elections, after Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy left the party, VIjayasai Reddy was forced to contest from Nellore Lok Sabha. Though it was clear to win against Vemireddy, everyone felt that it was a strategic move to sideline him completely in the party affairs. In the present scenario, Vijayasai Reddy’s next possible moves lead to several speculations.