The Vastunna Meekosam padayatra of Telugu Desam Party President N. Chandrababu Naidu seems to have choked TDP urban president Vallabhaneni Vamsi politically.
Even as the dust over entry of Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) is yet to settle down, there is a buzz in the party circles that TDP senior leader Nagul Meera will be made TDP Urban president. If it were to happen, TDP Urban president Vallabhaneni Vamsi will receive a raw deal.
Mr. Vamsi’s followers feel that attempts were being made to compel him to leave the party on his own ever since he met Kadapa MP and YSR Congress party president Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy during latter’s Odarpu Yatra in the city. He also maintains a close rapport with Gudivada MLA Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani), who switched loyalties to the YSR Congress from Telugu Desam.
Mylavaram MLA and TDP district president Devineni Umamaheswara Rao is said to have lodged a complaint with Mr. Naidu in this regard. It created a rift between the district and urban presidents then.
Mr. Vamsi’s group strongly feels that Mr. Uma paved the way for the entry of Mr. Nani to checkmate Mr. Vamsi. There are now doubts over his nomination as the party candidature for Vijayawada Lok Sabha seat. He participated in the padayatra, but Mr. Vamsi maintained a distance from Mr. Naidu initially. The scenario suddenly changed as soon as the padayatra was about to reach the city. The party leaders say that he (Mr. Vamsi) got an assurance from Mr. Naidu that Gannavaram seat will be earmarked for him. Mr. Vamsi, however, is said to be not confident that the party would give him ticket to contest from Gannavaram Assembly constituency which is now represented by Dasari Balavardhana Rao.
This sequence of developments indicate that Mr. Vamsi, who has been serving the party since 2009 elections, will be left in the lurch as he would neither be the TDP Urban president nor can contest from the Lok Sabha or Assembly constituency on the TDP ticket.
