VIJAYAWADA: Exodus of disgruntled leaders from the TDP continued to rock the party even as party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu was grappling with the daunting task of finalising the list of candidate for both Assembly and LS constituencies on Thursday.
While MLC Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy resigned from the ruling party and announced his decision to join the Opposition YSR Congress, MLA Varupula Subbarao from Prathipadu in East Godavari district followed suit after it became clear that the party leadership preferred his relative Varupula Raja’s candidatures from the constituency.
In fact, Subbarao, who was elected on the YSRC ticket in 2014, had switched loyalties to the TDP in 2016. Veteran leader and Narasaraopet MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao expressed his anguish over the party leadership’s indecision on his seat and hinted at considering future course of action in case he did not get any positive assurance at the earliest.
Dissensions among followers of Sidda Raghava Rao, whose name was cleared for the Ongole LS constituency, reached Amaravati on Thursday. His followers came in large numbers to the CM’s residence at Undavalli and raised slogans demanding that the party allocate Darsi Assembly seat to their leader.
At one stage, Raghava Rao, who came to meet the Chief Minister, tried to pacify his followers assuring that the CM would take a favourable decision as per their wish before going inside Naidu’s residence to apparently drive home the point that he preferred Darsi Assembly seat to Ongole Parliamentary constituency.