The YSR Congress Party received a jolt in the district, the home turf of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, following the resignation of the party’s senior leader and former ZP chairman M. Subramanyam Reddy on Sunday.
Mr. Subramanyam Reddy, a close associate of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, had unsuccessfully contested against Mr. Naidu for three consecutive terms as Congress candidate from Kuppam till 2009.
After the demise of Rajasekhara Reddy and during the turbulent phase when Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy broke away from the Congress and formed the YSR Congress Party, Mr. Subramanyam Reddy was the first person to quit the Congress in the district to openly support the YSR family. He had also quit as ZP chairman then. Though Mr. Subramanyam Reddy thought of contesting against Mr. Naidu for the fourth consecutive time in 2014, it did not materialise as the party leadership had given the ticket to a BC candidate.
In a press release issued on Sunday, Mr. Subramanyam Reddy observed that he was forced to quit the YSRCP, as he was unable to bear the humiliation from party leaders, particularly the Punganur MLA and general secretary Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy.
He alleged that the party leadership had asked him to stay away from interfering in the affairs of the Kuppam constituency, or work in coordination with constituency in charge Chandramouli, who had lost to Mr Naidu in 2014.
Rumour mills agog
Having been in the Congress for over three decades and serving as ZP chairman for five years, Mr. Subramanyam Reddy is a force to reckon with in the Kuppam constituency, which is his native place.
Rumour mills are agog that Mr. Subramanyam Reddy will return to the Congress and the TDP has assured him ZP chairman or MLC post if he chooses to join it.
