TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is understood to have decided to send Jayadev to the Rajya Sabha.
Published Sep 03, 2024 | 10:34 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 03, 2024 | 12:25 PM
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is understood to have decided to send Galla Jayadev (left) to the Rajya Sabha.
Industrialist and former TDP member in the Lok Sabha Galla Jayadev is likely to come out of retirement for a second political innings, courtesy Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Jayadev, the Chairperson and CEO of Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Ltd, quit politics in February this year to focus more on his family and businesses. While announcing his decision to stay away from politics, Jayadev also cited the “weaponisation” of government agencies as a reason.
Speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address to the Lok Sabha on 5 February this year, Jayadev said he would not henceforth contest polls. He was TDP’s parliamentary party leader in the Lower House when he announced his decision to “pause” his political life.
Jayadev represented Guntur in Andhra Pradesh in the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha, from 2014 to 2024.
With the change in power equation in Andhra Pradesh after the Assembly polls, TDP supremo and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is understood to have decided to send Jayadev to the Rajya Sabha.
The resignation of two YSRCP members — Mopidevi Venkata Ramana and Beeda Mastan Rao — has opened up two vacancies in the Rajya Sabha. The duo resigned to join the TDP.
In all likelihood, TDP would nominate Jayadev to replace Venkata Ramana, while Mastan Rao might be given another chance. Naidu’s apparent intention is to counter YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s influence over the BJP with Jayadev, an aggressive orator.
The resignations of Venkata Ramana and Mastan Rao have reduced YSRCP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha to nine from the earlier 11. The TDP does not have a Rajya Sabha member. However, the ground has now been cleared for the TDP to have its members in the Upper House.
The development is a welcome one for the BJP since the TDP is part of the NDA, and its prospective MPs would support the government if the need arises. For the YSRCP, however, the move will further weaken it.
Yet to recover from the debacle it faced in Andhra Pradesh assembly and Lok Sabha 2024 elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP was hoping to rely on its strong numbers in the Rajya Sabha to bargain with the BJP. While his party cannot be in alliance with the BJP, Jagan Mohan Reddy was hoping to use YSRCP’s numbers in the Rajya Sabha as a bargaining chip with the BJP to protect his interests.
With more MPs expected to follow suit, YSRCP is set to lose numbers in Rajya Sabha, further weakening its position. Jagan’s loss is Naidu’s win – in politics and perception.
US-educated Jayadev is the brother-in-law of Tollywood actor Mahesh Babu. While “pausing” politics, Jayadev had cited the need for getting 70 government approvals for starting a business as a reason, and the agencies concerned might be weaponised against businesses due to political rivalry.
However, he also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India an economic powerhouse in his decade-long rule since 2014.
He later told reporters that he had faced the problems from the Centre and the state and that he was fighting them legally. He said the departments that gave approvals could be used as weapons by the party in power and that he too had faced such problems.
After TDP stepped out of the NDA in 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Jayadev for Amara Raja’s alleged violations of pollution regulations and financial irregularities. The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board shut down some of the units for not “complying” with environmental regulations.
(Edited by Neena)
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