The exodus of the YSRC leaders into the TDP continued with Kadiri MLA Attar Chand Basha joining the ruling party here on Saturday.
Mr. Basha met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at his residence and formally joined the party, taking the total number of MLAs who deserted the Jagan camp to 13.
Several leaders of the YSRC joined TDP along with Mr. Basha strengthening the ruling party in Anantapur district.
Mr. Basha has been maintaining distance from the YSRC for the last few months and has cited the scope for speedy and all-round development of his constituency under the leadership of Mr. Naidu as the stock reason for switching loyalty.
Calls on Lokesh
Mr. Basha called on N. Lokesh, TDP general secretary for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, recently and made his intentions to leave the YSRC clear, and finally changed the party on the day Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy met Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan in Hyderabad over defections from his party.
Mr. Basha defeated TDP candidate K. Venkata Prasad by a margin of barely 1,000 votes in the 2014 elections.
Mr. Basha was in the TDP before the elections when he had played an active role in its minority wing, but quit it after being denied ticket. The TDP and Congress have won in the constituency two times each since 1989 while BJP won once in 1999.
