Disgruntled YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader from Gannavaram Assembly constituency Yarlagadda Venkata Rao on August 18 (Friday) announced that he was quitting the ruling party and would like to join the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) given an opportunity by its national president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr. Venkata Rao openly said that Mr. Naidu should give him the ticket to contest as the TDP candidate from Gannnavaram if he considered him a worthy candidate.
Addressing a meeting of his followers, Mr. Venkata Rao, who had been at odds with the YSRCP leadership ever since TDP MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan switched his loyalty to the ruling party, said he was confident of winning the Gannavaram seat and offering it as a gift to Mr. Naidu if he was given the opportunity to prove his mettle.
Mr. Venkata Rao said that he stayed back in Gannavaram in spite of obtaining a green card for settling in the U.S. due to his urge to serve the masses as a politician and worked with utmost sincerely for the YSRCP’s victory.
“However, the YSRCP has not recognised my contribution to the party. Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy (Adviser to the government on public affairs) has shown me the exit door,” Mr. Venkata Rao lamented.
Mr. Venkata Rao further said that he never imagined that his stint in the YSRCP would take such an unceremonious end.
Mr. Venkata Rao said the people of Gannavaram knew how Mr. Vamsi Mohan won the 2019 election, and that his cadre did not ditch him in spite of losing the election.
