With elections to both the state assembly and the Lok Sabha slated for next year, the Congress party received a serious jolt in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, as a senior Congress MP from the state quit the party to join the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). It is learnt that more MPs would follow suit.

Leading the pack is Keshav Rao, a senior Andhra Pradesh Congress leader considered close to both party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. The CWC member’s exit is seen as a setback to the electoral prospects of Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

After Keshav Rao, Manda Jagannatham, Rajaiah and Vivek are likely to resign on June 2 and join TRS.

With the spate of resignations, the party’s pre-election year dream projects of land reforms and food security bill are unlikely to be passed since there are indications that at least three more Congress MPs are likely to join the TRS close to the monsoon session.