Amaravati, Feb 2 (IANS): Seven months after losing power, the crisis in the YSR Congress Party appears to have deepened with the departure of V. Vijayasai Reddy, who resigned from the primary membership of the party two days ago.

YSRCP supremo and former chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was abroad when Vijayasai Reddy announced his retirement from politics a week ago and submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar.

After Jagan’s return two days ago, Vijayasai Reddy sent his resignation from the party positions and primary membership.

He wished that Jagan Mohan Reddy once again become the Chief Minister with a huge majority in the 2029 elections.

While leaders deserting a party after it loses power is common in Indian politics, Vijayasai Reddy’s resignation is not an ordinary development for YSRCP. It came as a bolt from the blue for both the party and Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Vijayasai Reddy was not just the general secretary and parliamentary party leader, he was the family friend of Jagan and a key strategist for the YSRCP.

The sudden decision of the chartered accountant-turned-politician to retire from politics came as a rude shock for the party, which was yet to recover from the crushing defeat in last year’s elections.

Till the other day, Vijayasai Reddy was as usual active on social media platform X posting his comments on a variety of issues and targeting his political rival N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The YSRCP leader had never dropped a hint of his plans and on January 24 when he announced his decision on X, it took everyone by surprise.

Terming his decision as personal, he made it clear that he would not join any other political party.

After submitting his resignation from Rajya Sabha to Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar the next day, Vijayasai Reddy revealed that before announcing his decision, he explained to Jagan Mohan Reddy in detail the reasons.

He also told media that though Jagan Mohan Reddy advised him not to leave the party; he did not change his mind.

There are speculations that differences with Jagan Mohan Reddy led to Vijayasai’s resignation. This has gained credence following the latest reports that Vijayasai Reddy met Jagan’s sister and Andhra Pradesh Congress President Y. S. Sharmila in Hyderabad three days ago.

Sharmila, who is not only Jagan’s political rival but also has a dispute with him over the sharing of family property, had targeted Vijayasai Reddy on many occasions. After the property dispute in the YSR family surfaced recently, Sharmila and her mother Vijayamma claimed that Vijayasai Reddy as the auditor knew that Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) had given some of his assets to his son and some to his daughter. They slammed him for speaking lies to support Jagan.

The reported meeting of Vijayasai with Sharmila may not only create new problems for Jagan Mohan Reddy politically but may also add to the property row in the family.

Jagan, whose party could win just 11 seats in the 175-member State Assembly, faces the tough challenge of staying afloat for the next five years.

Vijayasai Reddy’s resignation is seen as a psychological blow to Jagan Mohan Reddy as he had been with him through thick and thin ever since Jagan quit Congress party to float YSR Congress in 2010, a year after the death of his father YSR in a helicopter crash.

He was named accused number two in the disproportionate assets case booked against Jagan by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Vijayasai Reddy was arrested by the CBI in 2012 and remained in jail for about 100 days before he was released on bail.

The CBI had charged Vijayasai Reddy to be the kingpin, the brain behind the formation of several “shell” companies through which money was allegedly routed into Jagan’s firms including Jagathi publications as investments.

Vijayasai Reddy was associated with the YSR family for four decades as their personal auditor and was even rewarded with the post of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board member during the YSR regime.

After YSR’s death in 2009, Vijayasai Reddy came closer to Jagan and is believed to have played a key role in his major political decisions.

Considered a clever strategist in YSRCP circles, he emerged as a key leader after YSRCP stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh in 2019.

As the YSRCP parliamentary party leader, he acted as a bridge between the BJP-led NDA and the YSRCP. He also grew closer to top BJP leadership.

Vijayasai Reddy, who contested unsuccessfully for Lok Sabha from Nellore constituency last year, stood by the party when three Rajya Sabha members and several other leaders deserted the party in August-September.

His social media post affirming his loyalty to Jagan Mohan Reddy had raised many eyebrows in political circles. “I wish to make it clear that I am a loyal, dedicated, and committed worker of the YSRCP. I will remain with YSRCP and work under the leadership of Y. S. Jagan Garu. I condemn the baseless speculation and misinformation being spread by a section of the media about me quitting YSRCP and joining another political party,” Vijayasai wrote on X on August 28, 2024.

What changed in five months for him to quit is now being debated in political circles.

His move came less than three weeks after he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged irregularities in Kakinada Seaports.

The case involves accusations of cheating, criminal intimidation, and conspiracy to acquire stakes in Kakinada Seaports Limited and Kakinada SEZ Limited at a reduced price for Aurobindo Realty.

The ED took up the investigation after the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) registered a case based on the complaint of the former Chairman and Managing Director of Kakinada Seaports Limited (KSPL), Karnati Venkateswara Rao.

The CID had also booked Vijayasai Reddy’s son-in-law Sarath Chandra Reddy, Y. Vikranth Reddy and two companies. It was alleged that 41.12 per cent share of the port, valued at Rs 2,500 crore, was acquired for Rs 494 crore.

Vijayasai Reddy had said on December 5 that he would file a defamation case against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Venkateswara Rao for making false and baseless allegations against him regarding Kakinada Port and SEZ transactions.