Maganti Babu appears to be the latest candidate looking for a way out of TDP. Gone are the days when party loyalty mattered and leaders stuck to a party through thick and thin. In present times, it has become a trend to jump parties the minute they feel slighted or if the party is not doing well.
There was a time when Maganti Babu was in reckoning in the party and was considered to be among Babu’s close aides from West Godavari district. During the 2014 elections, TDP as a party secured 14 out of the 15 assembly constituencies in West Godavari. Given the wave, Maganti Babu too won as the MP from the district.
However, in 2019, things turned upside down for TDP. They secured a mere two seats from West Godavari and Maganti Babu too lost his MP seat. Since then, he has been unhappy and has been considering a move say party insiders. However, he kept to himself, distanced himself from party activities in the district and was busy looking after his personal businesses. Talk is that TDP chief Chandra Babu had also admonished him for being lax when it came to party activities.
The final straw in the story came when Maganti Babu was ignored by Babu while appointing some positions in West Godavari district. Maganti is said to have been miffed that Babu did not consider him even for a district-level post.
So, talks are rife in political circles that Maganti Babu is more or less decided to shift his loyalties to YSRCP, which is in power in Andhra Pradesh right now. Going a step further, it is also heard that he is already in parleys with YSRCP leadership ahead of the move.
If this happens, Chandra Babu will lose out on yet another strong candidate. It is known that TDP barely has any presence in Andhra Pradesh these days.