It has been quite common for political leaders to jump from one party to another before and after elections. Those who do not get tickets in his part to contest the elections would jump into the rival party before the elections.
After the elections, too, some leaders of the defeated party, whether they get elected or not, will try to jump into the winning party to enjoy power for the next five years. If they are influential, they might even get plum posts in the government or the ruling party.
But not all the leaders from the defeated party will get entry into the elected party. Only those who are non-controversial and did not display animosity or hatred towards the rival party while they were in power in the past, would get admitted into the newly-elected party.
In the past, senior leaders used to show some kind of lenience and generosity towards those who want to defect from the rival party. Irrespective of what they uttered in the past, they used to get admission into the newly-elected party.
But now, the situation has changed. Young leadership in the newly-elected party are strongly resisting the entry of leaders from other parties, who had used abusive language and negative campaign against their rival party.
When Y S Rajasekhar Reddy was in power in Andhra Pradesh, he used to forgive and accept the leaders from other parties, irrespective of whether they had abused him in the past as part of politics. For example, he openly welcomed R K Roja, who had once abused him in foul language, into the party.
But after his son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power, he never entertained the leaders of other parties who had hurt his ego and abused him in the past. He used to shut doors on them forever.
Now, it appears Telugu Desam Party general secretary Nara Lokesh, too, has decided to adopt the same approach.
In the last five years, the YSRCP leaders foul-mouthed him, described him as a “pappu” and even dragged his family into the political mudslinging.
Now, Lokesh is firm on not accepting such leaders into the TDP under any circumstances.
Sources said some YSRCP leaders had sent him feelers directly and through mediators, evincing interest in joining the party. But he has reportedly refused to meet them, let alone allowing them into the party.
He is in fact shutting the doors on the face of mediators, who bring such proposals to him. This is applicable to all the YSRCP leaders, irrespective of whether they were mild or harsh in their attack on him and his father Chandrababu Naidu.
In a way, it is good for the party, as such leaders who defect from the YSRCP into the TDP now start demanding positions and posts at a later stage. This will create heartburn among those who have been loyal to the party and had struggled to bring the party back to power.
At the same time, it may not be correct on the part of Lokesh to be stubborn on his stand in rejecting all leaders from other parties. Sometimes, such defections are necessary keeping in view local politics and caste dynamics because of their clout in their respective constituencies.
So, it is better to be choosy in allowing leaders from other parties into the TDP, after analysing all equations. Unlike Jagan, it is essential for Lokesh to adopt a give-and-take approach in politics!