The Telugu Desam on Tuesday suspended its MLA Praveen Kumar Reddy from Tamballapalli in Chittoor district, from the party with immediate effect after he met YSR Congress president Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy in the Chanchalguda prison here on Tuesday.
Mr. Praveen, elected to the state Legislative Assembly for the first time in 2009, recently criticised TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu after the latter wrote a letter to the Centre seeking immediate resolution of the Telangana statehood issue.
Mr. Praveen used the letter only as a pretext to get out of TDP and join YSRC as he had been preparing ground for this for the past few months, party sources said.
On Tuesday, he visited the Chanchalguda jail and interacted with Mr. Jagan, who was lodged there as an undertrial prisoner in the disproportionate assets case.
Mr. Praveen joining the YSRC is now only a formality. Another TDP MLA Amarnath Reddy from Palamaneru in Chittoor had also been critical of Chandrababu on the statehood issue.
Though Mr. Amarnath did not reveal his plans yet, it is expected that he too may join the YSRC, which will be a serious setback to the TDP in its supremo’s home district as he is a politically strong man.