VIJAYAWADA: The State government on Wednesday appointed Dr V B Sai Krishna Yachendra of the royal Venkatagiri family as the chairman of Sri Venkateswara Bhakthi Channel (SVBC) of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for two years. The post of SVBC chairman has remained vacant since the controversial exit of actor Prudhviraj in January this year.
Sai Krishna Yachendra belongs to the Venkatagiri Rajah family, which has a huge following in Venkatagiri constituency of Nellore district. The family has a stronghold in some mandals in the segment. Venkatagiri Rajahs were with the TDP since its inception and members of the royal family represented the constituency twice — in 1985 and in 1994.
Velugoti Bhaskara Saikrishna Yachendra contested on a TDP ticket in the 1985 polls and defeated Petluru Balakrishna Reddy. Raja VVRK Yachendra defeated former Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy in 1994. After developing differences with former legislator Kurugondla Ramakrishna, VB Sai Krishna shifted his loyalties to the YSRC before the 2019 polls.