YSRCP has been trying hard to bring TDP’s Vizag (East) MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna into its fold. The party has reportedly entrusted this job to civil supplies minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani). Ramakrishna, who hails from Krishna district, settled in Visakhapatnam long time ago. He has achieved a hat-trick by winning Vizag East three times in a row.
Ruling party thinks it will be a cake walk for the party in the upcoming Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) elections if it can enlist the support of influential Kamma community. So far, only MVVS Murthy’s family has been the mainstay of the TDP in the district. Another party MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao has made attempts to jump onto the YSRCP bandwagon, but his entry is being stalled by minister Muttamsetti Venkateswara Rao and party Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy.
Why Nani?
Velagapudi Ramakrishna and Kodali Nani have good relations. They are seen chatting in Assembly lobby during sessions. Nani is said to have been entrusted the task because both belong to the same district. Nani has been trying hard to deprive Naidu of Leader of Opposition post too by engineering more defections from the party.
Already, three TDP MLAs (two are Kammas) have defected to YSRCP. The YSRCP wants to create an impression that even Kammas are not trusting Naidu. As part of this drive, the ruling party is seriously trying to bring Velagapudi Ramakrishna into its fold.
Will Velagapudi defect?
It can’t be assumed he will change the party now. But at the same time, one can’t be sure that he will stick with the TDP. He has been keeping away from the party activities for the last few months, giving rise to suspicions about his future plans. YSRCP has no leader worth his salt in Vizag East. So, the party has reportedly promised the same seat to him in the 2024 election. Velagapudi ran wine shops, but after YSRCP came to power, he lost his business as the state government itself is running the liquor outlets. Kodali Nani is reported to have assured some contracts to compensate the loss if he defects to YSRCP. Further, he also said to have promised to get Velagapudi re-elected in 2024 by providing Rs 10 crore as election funding.
Weakening TDP in Vizag
TDP is strong in Vizag. It won four Assembly seats in the city, though MP seat went to YSRCP. Although Ganta Srinivasa Rao has won from TDP, he has been keeping away from the party. All his focus is on joining YSRCP. The ruling party thinks it will have complete domination in the city if it can rope in Velagapudi Ramakrishna. With his defection, TDP might lose its influence in the port city and YSRCP’s victory will be easy in the GVMC polls. YSRCP’s stock has already risen in the city after the government announced Vizag as capital. If the party loses the GVMC election by any chance, it would be a major humiliation for the party, hence it does not want to take any risk at all. It wants all the major players, including TDP MLAs, in its kitty before the civic polls.
