On a day when one senior leader, Kadiam Srihari, tried to patch up with Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dadi Veerabhadra Rao, resigned from the TDP. He sent in his resignation letter to the party office and left for Visakhapatnam for a meeting with his followers at Anakapalle to decide his future course of action.
Interestingly, Mr. Rao’s six-year term as MLC expired only on Wednesday. He had been nursing a grouse against Mr. Naidu after he was not re-nominated as the party candidate in the MLC elections from the legislators’ constituency in March.
He was an MLC from local bodies’ constituency which was vacant in the absence of elections but the party ignored him for the MLAs’ constituency. Instead, it gave ticket to former Speaker Y. Ramakrishnudu. Mr. Rao and Mr. Ramakrishnudu belong to the Backward Classes.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Rao said he had invitation from all parties to join but he would make up his mind on Friday. He quit the party because he was hurt that Mr. Naidu refused to extend his term in the Council without talking to him. He also said Mr. Naidu deleted his name from the panel of leaders enlisted to work out a strategy for Assembly and Council proceedings. In his resignation letter, Mr. Rao said he was quitting the party along with his family members. He expressed his gratefulness to the party and its founder president N.T. Rama Rao for the opportunity given to them to serve the public for 30 years. He added that circumstances had forced him to take such a decision. Mr. Rao was keen to earn the party ticket for his son from Anakapalle Parliamentary constituency while he wanted to continue in the Council.
