Chittoor MLA Arani Srinivasulu joined the Jana Sena Party (JSP) on March 7 (Thursday). He was welcomed into the party by its president Pawan Kalyan at the party office near Mangalagiri.
Mr. Srinivasulu was recently suspended by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) after he met Mr. Kalyan in the wake of the appointment of M.C. Vijayananda Reddy as Chittoor constituency in-charge.
On the occasion, Mr. Kalyan said Chittoor district was in the grip of Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy and P.V. Midhun Reddy, and leaders such as Mr. Srinivasulu had little freedom to air their views, not to mention the orders he had to take from the party’s top brass. The entire Rayalaseema region was treated by the YSRCP as its fiefdom, he alleged.
Mr. Kalyan said he knew Mr. Srinivasulu from the days of his association with the Praja Rajyam Party, and that leaders like him from the Backward Classes (BCs) needed to be empowered by all means, while insisting that what the YSRCP claimed to have done for them (BCs) was mere rhetoric.
