On August 19, 2026, former Rajya Sabha member and longtime YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) national general secretary V. Vijayasai Reddy announced his intention to launch a new political party in Andhra Pradesh.
The declaration came after he offered prayers with his family at the Tirumala temple, ending nearly 19 months of speculation about his political future following his exit from the YSRCP.
From Accountant to Politician
Mr. Vijayasai Reddy, a 69-year-old chartered accountant from Nellore, stated that the proposed outfit would aim to amplify the voices of ordinary citizens in the state Assembly and Parliament.
He described it as a platform ‘for the people, by the people and on the side of the people,’ focused on addressing public grievances and fighting on their behalf. He indicated that the process of establishing the party would begin this month and that he would outline its full roadmap, including structure, agenda, and other details, at a press conference in Vijayawada later in August.
Citing temple guidelines that discourage political discussions on the sacred hills, he withheld further specifics at Tirumala. This development is a clear reversal from Mr. Reddy’s position in January 2025, when he resigned from the Rajya Sabha (with more than three years remaining in his second term) and quit the YSRCP. At that time, he announced his retirement from politics, declared he would not join any other party, and said he planned to focus on agriculture. He expressed lasting gratitude to the YS family, particularly former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, for decades of support across three generations, while asserting the decision was personal and free of external pressure.
Mr. Vijayasai Reddy had been one of the closest aides to the YSR family, serving as the family auditor in earlier years, a founding member of the YSRCP, its national general secretary, and its longest-serving parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha (from 2016 onward). He was widely viewed as a key strategist and the party’s effective second-in-command during its time in power.
After the YSRCP’s defeat in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections (reduced to a small number of seats against the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance), internal dynamics shifted, and Mr. Reddy stepped away. In the intervening period, speculation swirled about possible alignments with other parties, including the BJP, or a return to the YSRCP. However, Vijayasai Reddy had publicly maintained he had no immediate plans to join or form a party while noting longstanding personal friendships (including with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan).
Andhra Pradesh’s political landscape remains largely bipolar, dominated by the ruling TDP-led NDA coalition (under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu) and the opposition YSRCP under YS Jagan.
Local body elections are approaching, with the YSRCP actively mobilizing against the government on issues ranging from unfulfilled promises to law-and-order concerns. Vijayasai Reddy’s entry as a third force introduces a potential new variable. As a seasoned operator with deep institutional knowledge, parliamentary experience, and networks built over decades, he could attract residual support from disaffected YSRCP workers or voters seeking alternatives. However, building a viable organizational base, ideology, funding, and electoral machinery from scratch is a significant challenge in a state with entrenched regional parties and high-stakes identity and welfare politics.
Media plans
Earlier in 2026, he also signaled a media foray: plans for an independent digital news platform (in Telugu, Hindi, and English) focused on public issues, followed by a Telugu satellite channel, with his daughter involved in operations. The media initiative was framed as non-partisan but has not taken off.