Defection of RS MPs: Crises not new to TDP, says Chandrababu

As four of his party Rajya Sabha MPs joined the BJP, Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu Thursday said such crises were not new to the party. Taking stock of the situation, Naidu, who is vacationing in Europe, spoke to a couple of senior party leaders here over the phone, party sources said.

Naidu enquired about the rebellion and told the leaders that such crises were not new to TDP, they said. TDP fought with the BJP only for securing the state's interests, the sources quoted him as having said.

In a jolt to the TDP, four of its six Rajya Sabha members submitted a petition to the Upper House Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu seeking a merger with the BJP and later joined the saffron party in New Delhi.