VISAKHAPATNAM: Speculation is rife that former minister and senior TDP leader Ganta Srinivasa Rao is going to join the ruling YSR Congress soon. Srinivasa Rao has reportedly got clearance from the YSRC top leadership for the same.
It will be a big blow to the TDP in Visakhapatnam district if Ganta quits the party and joins the ruling YSRC ahead of local body elections. Ganta, of late, has been keeping a distance from TDP activities.
However, the hitch is YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had declared that MLAs from other parties will be admitted into the YSRC only after they quit their posts. However, it is not yet known whether Ganta will resign as MLA before joining the YSRC. The YSRC wants to strengthen the party in Visakhapatnam so as to win GVMC and other local bodies in the ensuing elections. Even party MP and senior leader V Vijayasai Reddy, at a recent meeting in the city, indicated that many leaders, including some big shots, will join the party soon.
Ganta is one of the four TDP MLAs who were elected from Visakhapatnam district. He won against YSRC nominee with a slender margin and the counting then continued for more than 24 hours.
There has been speculation that he might switch over to the YSRC ever since he was elected to the Assembly.
Earlier, there were rumours that he, along with a over dozen MLAs, was joining the BJP. However, Ganta, then, denied the reports and said there was not even an iota of truth in the report. He said that he, along with his friends, had gone to Sri Lanka to visit Shaktipeeth Shri Shankari Devi Temple at Trincomalee. However, there was a speculation that he had been camping in Sri Lanka with TDP MLAs. He, however, maintained then that his Sri Lanka trip was personal and no MLA was present with him.
According to sources, the former HRD minister has now almost finalised his decision to join YSRC and it will be a matter of days before he announces it. Meanwhile, former TDP MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu is also contemplating quitting the party and joining the YSRC.
Why it will be a big blow to yellow brigade?
It will be a big blow to the TDP if Ganta joins the ruling YSRC ahead of local body elections
YSRC wants to strengthen the party in Visakhapatnam so as to win GVMC and other local bodies
Ganta is one of the four TDP MLAs who were elected from Visakhapatnam district