KAKINADA: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday removed former MLA SVSN Varma from his role as Pithapuram constituency in-charge, following a clash with Jana Sena leader Pendem Dorababu over a flex banner with a ‘missing’ image of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The decision sparked an emotional outburst from Varma, who struggled to hold back tears while speaking to the media outside the TDP office. Later, addressing local committee members, he said, “I always follow the party high command’s decisions.”
The controversy began when Varma objected to flexi banners prepared for mobile distribution to census enumerators in Pithapuram, which allegedly did not carry the Chief Minister’s photo.
The issue escalated at the Pithapuram Area Development Authority (PADA) office, where Dorababu, confronted Varma in the presence of district chief T Ramaswamy.
CM Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan separately reviewed the matter, with Naidu issuing indirect warnings to party leaders in Visakhapatnam against actions that could harm NDA alliance unity. Following the clash, Varma skipped official programmes and showed little interest in new initiatives.
Varma revealed that TDP National Working President Nara Lokesh and Jana Sena leaders Narayana and Palla Srinivas had consulted him on forming a new coordination committee. He said he himself suggested the move, citing personal commitments.