From Jagan aide to rival: Vijayasai Reddy launches new party in Andhra | Political Pulse News
Almost two years after announcing his “retirement” from politics, V Vijayasai Reddy, former YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MP and key aide of former Andhra Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Wednesday floated his own political outfit, the Parivartan Rajniti Party (PRP).
Speaking at the launch of the party in Vijayawada, Vijayasai said his aim was to “occupy the political vacuum left by the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. “It is an alternative party for Telugu people,” he said after unveiling the party’s white and saffron flag.
Sources close to him said that the poor performance of the Congress – where the party was restricted to single digits – in the recent civic polls also prompted him to float his own outfit. “The party hopes to attract disillusioned Congress cadres and leaders, as well as supporters of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy,” a source said.
Vijayasai had stayed away from active politics following the YSRCP’s rout in the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. In January 2025, he quit the party and Rajya Sabha saying he was “retiring” from active politics. In recent months, however, he had indicated his desire to return to politics.
Ahead of the launch, Vijayasai had stepped up his criticism of the ruling TDP-led NDA government and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, raising issues such as delays in government employees’ salaries, unemployment and low salaries for teachers.
He had also alleged that local body elections were being hijacked by the ruling party. At the same time, he adopted a relatively conciliatory approach towards the NDA government at the Centre, frequently praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With the TDP-Jana Sena Party-BJP alliance remaining politically strong and the YSRCP retaining a sizeable support base, the prospects of Vijayasai’s new party remain uncertain.
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Drifting further away from Jagan
The launch is also likely to deepen the political divide between Vijayasai and Jagan, once close friends and political associates.
In May last year, Jagan had accused Vijayasai of “surrendering before Naidu” after resigning from the Rajya Sabha and giving a statement to investigating agencies in the alleged liquor scam during the YSRCP regime.
“Vijayasai Reddy surrendered the remaining three-and-a-half years of his Rajya Sabha term to Naidu by resigning. He knows that the YSRCP cannot renominate him because we do not have enough MLAs, so he quit, knowing fully well that it would benefit the NDA. He bowed down before Chandrababu (Naidu). When such a person gives statements to investigation agencies, what is their value? What does it say about that person?” Jagan had said.
The Vijayasai-Jagan relationship had remained strong for years, with the former serving as the party’s national general secretary and one of Jagan’s closest advisers, strategists and political planners. However, following the YSRCP’s defeat in the 2024 elections, in which Vijayasai also lost to a TDP candidate, he gradually withdrew from party activities. Sources said the two had little communication after the electoral setback and stopped speaking altogether after his resignation.
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Who is Vijayasai Reddy?
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Vijayasai had been associated with the YSR family since 1980, when he first met Jagan’s father, Rajasekhara Reddy, who invited him to join politics.
He subsequently became a financial adviser to the family, particularly Jagan, who had several business interests at the time. In 2006, Rajasekhara Reddy nominated him to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board for two terms.
While Vijayasai was initially involved in managing the family’s business interests, his association with Jagan grew closer after YSR died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. He stood by the family during the crisis and subsequently emerged as one of Jagan’s closest confidants.
Vijayasai has also been named as an accused alongside Jagan in several CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases. He has been out on bail since October 2013 in the disproportionate assets and quid pro quo cases in which the CBI named both in its chargesheets in 2012.
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In December 2024, the Andhra Pradesh CID named him in an FIR over allegations that he had pressured Karnati Venkateswara Rao, a shareholder in Kakinada Seaports Ltd (KSPL), to sell his shares, which were subsequently acquired through the Aurobindo Pharma group.
