YSR Congress’ Gudivada Municipal Chairman Y. Srinivas Rao and 10 councillors joined the TDP in the presence of party national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at Undavalli in Guntur district on Sunday.
The TDP already has 15 councillors in the civic body, and its strength now has touched 25. Mr. Srinivas Rao is considered a confidante of Gudivada MLA Kodali Venkateswara Rao (Nani) of the YSRC The development is likely to have an impact on Mr. Nani and lead to dramatic changes in the days to come. TDP leaders Pinnamaneni Venkateswara Rao, Raavi Venkateswara Rao, and others are said to be trying to checkmate Mr. Nani. In 2014, it was expected that Mr. Nani would be defeated following former Minister and Congress leader Pinnamaneni Venkateswara Rao joining the TDP. But Mr. Nani emerged victorious. Now, the TDP seems to have succeeded in attracting the trusted lieutenants of Mr. Nani to the party. In fact, there are rumours that Mr. Nani too would join the Telugu Desam. A few months ago, he attended an official function along with former MP N. Harikrishna.