Amaravati: In a significant political development, Congress MP Mallu Ravi met with R. Krishnaiah on Wednesday, just a day after Krishnaiah resigned from the Rajya Sabha. Krishnaiah, who was elected in 2022 on a YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) ticket, officially submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi.
Mallu Ravi, representing Nagarkurnool, reportedly extended an invitation to Krishnaiah to join the Congress party. Krishnaiah, a prominent leader of the Backward Classes, cited his resignation as a move to bolster efforts for a caste census and improve political reservation for Backward Classes.
Elected unanimously to the Rajya Sabha in 2022, Krishnaiah still had several years remaining in his term. He previously served as President of the National BC Association and was considered a surprising choice by the YSRCP, which held a dominant position in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly at the time.
Krishnaiah’s resignation follows the YSRCP’s recent loss of power to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led alliance in Andhra Pradesh. His political journey has seen him switch allegiances multiple times; after initially joining the TDP in 2014 and being elected to the Telangana Assembly, he later moved to Congress before joining the YSRCP in 2019.
In response to his resignation, the YSRCP accused Krishnaiah of colluding with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The party expressed disappointment, claiming that Naidu’s actions were destabilizing the state and undermining democracy by allegedly trying to sway opposition members. The YSRCP emphasized that Krishnaiah’s decision to ally with Naidu was a betrayal of the Backward Classes and the trust placed in him by both the party and the public.
Krishnaiah is the third Rajya Sabha member from the YSRCP to resign in less than a month, following Mopidevi Venkataramana and Beeda Masthan Rao, who also left the party to join the TDP. With Krishnaiah’s resignation, the YSRCP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has diminished from 11 to 8 members.
As the political landscape in Andhra Pradesh continues to shift, the implications of these resignations and potential new alignments remain to be seen.