Jolt to YSRCP as Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Zakia Khanam quits

Amaravati, May 14 (IANS) In another setback for the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Zakia Khanam on Wednesday resigned from the Council and the party.

She sent her resignation as MLC to Council chairperson Koyye Moshen Raju.

Khanam, who was nominated to the Council under the Governor's quota in July 2020, hails from Rayachoti in Annamayya district.

She was the first Muslim woman to become the MLC and also the first woman Deputy Chairperson of the council.

Khanam is the sixth MLC to quit YSRCP since the party lost power to the TDP-led NDA in June last year.

Earlier, Balli Kalyan Chakravarthy, Karri Padmasri, Pothula Suneetha, Marri Rajasekhar and Jayamangala Venkataramana resigned from the Council. They all cited dissatisfaction with the party's functioning as the reason for their resignation.

Council Chairman Moshen Raju has yet to accept any of the resignations. They repeatedly urged the chairman to accept their resignations and even staged protests over the delay in accepting their resignations.

With Zakia Khanam's exit, YSRCP's strength in the 57-member Council has decreased further, even though it still enjoys a majority. The resigning leaders claim they are leaving due to disagreements with Jagan Mohan Reddy's leadership and policies.

The YSRCP has 31 members in the Council even after the resignation of six MLCs. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has 10 members, while its coalition partners BJP and Jana Sena, have one member each. Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) has four MLCs.

A spate of resignations has hit Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP since its crushing defeat in the Assembly elections.

The party, which had won 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly in 2019, was reduced to just 11 seats in the elections held in May last year.

Several leaders have quit the YSRCP.

Those who have resigned include four Rajya Sabha members. In January, Jagan Mohan Reddy's close aide and Rajya Sabha member Vijaya Sai Reddy resigned from the upper house of the Parliament and the party.

--IANS

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