AS THE countdown begins to elections in Andhra Pradesh, which will see simultaneous polls to the Assembly and Lok Sabha, the season of political leaders switching parties has begun.

Among the most prominent leaders to have made the move so far is two-time Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP from Vijayawada Kesineni Srinivas, popularly known as Nani, who quit his Lok Sabha seat as well as the party, and joined the ruling YSRCP in the second week of January.

Soon after, he was declared the YSRCP candidate from Vijayawada.

Nani was upset over him and his daughter K Swetha, a corporator of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, who also quit her post and from the TDP, not being given enough importance in the party.

“I cannot continue in the TDP any longer… I appreciate the support that Chandrababu (Naidu) and Lokesh gave me, but since last one year or so, my father and I have been made to feel that we are no longer needed in the party,’’ Swetha said.

Another reason for Nani’s anger reportedly was the seeming preference of Naidu for his brother Kesineni Srikanth. Now, Nani may end up facing Srikanth from the Vijayawada seat in the Lok Sabha, which could become a three-way race with the BJP’s Y S Chowdary also eyeing the constituency.

Later this week, in a big boost to actor-politician K Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP), Machilipatnam MP V Balashowry, who has quit the YSRCP, will be joining the party. The JSP, which has an alliance with the TDP, is looking to reap the Kapu vote in Machilipatnam, and Balashowry may help secure that for the party.

Balashowry said he had got the message that the YSRCP did not intend to renominate him from the seat, and his complaint that local party MLAs were not cooperating with him had gone unheard. “They even stopped inviting me to local YSRCP and government programmes,’’ he said.

The one entry and exit that caught the most eyeballs was that of retired cricketer Ambati Rayudu, who left the YSRCP within 10 days of joining it. Sources said he was hoping to be fielded from Guntur Lok Sabha seat, and soured when he realised that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was in no mood to grant him the ticket.

Others who have recently switched parties include YSRCP MLC C Ramachandraiah, who joined the TDP, while YSRCP MLA from Penamulur K Parthasarthy who has been denied a ticket this time is switching to the TDP.

Hindupuram YSRCP MP Gorantla Madhav, whose claim to fame was being one of the police officers who successfully foiled the Parliament attack of December 13, 2001, may switch to the TDP as the YSRCP has dropped hints that he may not be renominated.

Sources said TDP MP from Guntur Jaydev Galla, director of Amara Raja Group, is also unhappy and considering options. Galla was one of the richest Lok Sabha candidates in 2019, with declared assets of Rs 680 crore plus.

The YSRCP was perhaps ready for these shake-ups, with Jagan going ahead with massive changes to try and beat bankruptcy. Indications are that 59 sitting MLAs (of the party’s 151) and at least 10 of its 22 sitting MPs will be dropped.

Many more hence are expected to switch to the TDP or Jana Sena or BJP.

If the party hopping indicates one other thing, it is that the Congress is still not a choice for many – meaning that while Y S Sharmila joining the party recently did create some buzz in political circles, there is no visible uptick in the party’s fortunes in Andhra Pradesh.

The party, rejuvenated by its win in neighbouring Telangana and earlier in Karnataka, has charted a poll strategy as part of which, from January 20 onwards till two months to follow, the party intends to canvass across all the households in the state. The Congress, which had been wiped out in Andhra after the bifurcation of the state leading to the formation of Telangana, is hoping that the 10-year period since would have pacified the people of Andhra.

Any gains would be a plus for the Congress, which failed to win a single Assembly or Lok Sabha seat in Andhra in either 2014 or 2019.