A recent GreatAndhra article titled “Betrayer of YSRCP,” written about Vijayasai Reddy, created a major sensation in Telugu political circles and triggered considerable discussion within the YSR Congress Party.
The impact of that article is now evident from the open letter released by Vijayasai Reddy.
While strongly rejecting the allegation that he betrayed the YSRCP, Vijayasai launched a scathing attack on Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, one of the most influential figures in the party.
In his letter, Vijayasai sarcastically described Sajjala as the “number one” leader in the YSRCP and placed party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the “number two” position.
More significantly, Vijayasai alleged that Sajjala had betrayed not only the YSRCP but the people of Andhra Pradesh as well.
Responding to the campaign branding him a “betrayer,” Vijayasai said that if betrayal had been in his nature, he could have compromised with the Congress long ago and ensured that his name did not figure in CBI and ED charge sheets.
He recalled that he was made A-2 in several cases along with Jagan and spent 15 months in jail, while Jagan was imprisoned for 16 months.
“If betrayal was in my blood, I could have turned approver back then,” he said.
Vijayasai also pointed out that even after the 2024 elections, he was named A-5 in the alleged liquor scam and A-2 in the Kakinada Seaport case.
Taking a direct swipe at Sajjala, he alleged that the so-called “minister for all departments” had not figured in any charge sheet during the last two-and-a-half years of TDP rule.
Vijayasai further alleged that some leaders within the YSRCP knew how to maintain links with the TDP and protect themselves from cases without Jagan’s knowledge.
He claimed that since 2020, Sajjala, along with a senior leader from North Andhra who was allegedly preparing to switch parties, had repeatedly complained about him to Jagan and eventually succeeded in removing him from responsibilities in North Andhra.
According to Vijayasai, Sajjala had projected himself as an atheist and communist but eventually became, in his words, “a betrayer not just of the YSRCP but of the State itself.”
Vijayasai said he had worked loyally for the YS family for around 40 years, but from 2020 onwards, his self-respect was repeatedly hurt.
He questioned who gradually reduced his importance in the PMO, in Delhi and within the party, and who created circumstances that effectively pushed him out.
He alleged that Sajjala’s influence increased dramatically after the YSRCP’s massive victory in the 2019 elections.
Vijayasai accused Sajjala of acting as an “extra-constitutional authority” and creating a wall around Jagan, preventing even MLAs, MPs and ministers from easily meeting the then Chief Minister.
He questioned whether senior leaders, workers and loyalists who wanted to work for Jagan should be forced to function under Sajjala.
Vijayasai also raised concerns about the party’s future, asking whether senior leaders and workers would eventually blame Sajjala and quit politics if the YSRCP were to lose again in 2029.
He said leaders such as Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Botsa Satyanarayana, YV Subba Reddy, Mithun Reddy and himself had served as regional coordinators, while Sajjala was made State coordinator with authority over them.
Vijayasai said he could not accept such an arrangement.
According to him, this was one of the reasons he chose to protect his self-respect, resign from the YSRCP and give up four years of his remaining Rajya Sabha term.
He said he followed the moral principle that since he had been elected on the YSRCP symbol, he should also resign from the Rajya Sabha after leaving the party.
Vijayasai maintained that he had not spoken a single word against Jagan for nearly two years and repeatedly stated that he had quit because of the humiliation caused by the party’s “coterie.”
He said that the same group was now criticising him after reports emerged that he was planning to launch a new political party.
“I will fight democratically and try to win directly. I cannot capture a government or a party from within and indulge in covert politics while misleading Jagan every day,” he said.
One of the most serious allegations in Vijayasai’s letter relates to an incident at the YSRCP plenary in Mangalagiri in 2022.
Vijayasai alleged that Sajjala physically attacked him at the event and claimed that Jagan was aware of the incident but remained a spectator.
He said several party leaders present at the venue had witnessed what happened.
Vijayasai further alleged that by that time Jagan had already come under Sajjala’s influence and gradually began sidelining him.
He recalled that during a meeting of MLAs, MPs and coordinators in 2022, Jagan allegedly remarked that “Sai Anna has grown old” while removing him from responsibilities connected to affiliated organisations.
Vijayasai said he was later removed from responsibilities covering areas from Guntur to Tirupati and was also dropped from the core committee.
Though he considered himself loyal to Jagan, Vijayasai alleged that the internal coterie succeeded in systematically targeting and isolating him.
He claimed that there were as many as 74 instances in which he had been humiliated, adding that he had kept many such incidents to himself.
According to him, until 2020, his opinion carried considerable weight with Jagan, and this had allegedly created resentment within the coterie.
Vijayasai said that while he remained busy carrying out Jagan’s instructions in Delhi, Sajjala stayed close to Jagan and worked to weaken his position within the party.
He then made one of his sharpest remarks.
“In today’s YSRCP, if you ask who is number two, it is Jagan. If you ask who is number one, it is the ‘minister for all departments,’ Sajjala,” Vijayasai said sarcastically.
He added that whether the party wins or loses would ultimately be decided by the people, but he could no longer continue in a system where senior leaders were expected to constantly bow before Sajjala.
Vijayasai said the situation became even worse after the 2024 elections, prompting him to resign both from the YSRCP and his Rajya Sabha membership.
He reiterated that he had never betrayed Jagan and would never do so.
Instead, he asked YSRCP workers and Jagan’s supporters to think about who was actually working covertly from within the party and who was truly betraying its leadership.
Vijayasai said he would reveal more details through the media at an appropriate time.
The most explosive allegation in the entire letter, however, remains his claim that Sajjala physically attacked him at the 2022 plenary and that Jagan did not intervene.
The political focus will now be on whether Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy responds to these serious allegations.
If he does, the controversy could escalate further. If he remains silent, Vijayasai’s charges are likely to continue dominating the political debate within the YSRCP and beyond.
