The decision of Telugu Yuvatha president Devineni Avinash to resign from the Telugu Desam Party and join the YSR Congress party was not a big surprise as such defections have become very common in politics these days.
Though Avinash repeated the routine dialogue that he had joined the YSR Congress party as he was impressed with the Navaratnalu programme of chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, there is a different reason for the defection of Avinash and his followers.
Apparently, Avinash had been unhappy with the TDP leadership for not coming to his rescue though he had fought a bitter battle with Kodali Nani and lost with a margin of nearly 20,000 votes in the recent assembly elections from Gudivada constituency in Krishna district.
In fact, Avinash was not keen on contesting from Gudivada, as he had a clear understanding about the strengths of Kodali Nani and was aware that it was too difficult for him to win the seat.
He refused to accept the party ticket from Gudivada, but the TDP leadership did not find a better person than Avinash who could defeat Kodali Nani. After analysing all aspects, including caste equations, TDP president N Chandababu Naidu forced Avinash to contest the elections.
He is learnt to have promised Avinash that he would stand by him irrespective of the outcome of the elections.
However, when the electioneering started, there was no assistance from the party in terms of election expenditure.
Whenever Avinash explained his limitations, Naidu had told him spend money from his own pocket and assured that the party would reimburse the expenditure.
Avinash spent lavishly in the election but lost the polls with a big margin.
When he went to Naidu and reminded about his promise about reimbursement of poll expenditure, the TDP president agreed to help him financially to some extent, but his son Nara Lokesh did not agree for the same.
Lokesh reportedly argued that if Avinash was reimbursed the poll expenditure, it would set a new precedent and all the defeated candidates would ask for financial help from the party.
Even Lokesh’s wife Nara Brahmani supported her husband’s argument.
This has hurt Avinash, who blindly followed the party directions and contested the elections from Gudivada though he was not willing for it. But the party has backtracked on the promise to come to his rescue in his difficult times. So, he had no option but to join the YSRC to wriggle out of the financial crisis.