In a setback to the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Narasaraopet MP Lavu Sri Krishnadevaraya tendered his resignation from both his parliamentary post and the party on Tuesday, January 23. He said that the party denied allocating him a preferred seat which led him to quit the party.
Chief Minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, so far has released four lists and finalised candidates for 10 Lok Sabha seats and 58 assembly constituencies. As the fifth list of the candidates is yet to be released, Krinhnadevarya joined the list of three party members who quit the party due to disappointment with seat allocation.
Addressing the media on January 23, MP Sri Krishnadevaraya said, "For the past few weeks there was confusion on the candidate for the Narasaraopet seat. I want to end this and hence decided to quit the party. I am also resigning from my Lok Sabha membership." He added, “I thank Chief Minister YS Jagan for providing me the opportunity.”
Lavu Sri Krishnadevaraya, chairman of Vignan University, had contested elections in 2019 and emerged successful with a massive margin of 1.50 lakh. Though the MP was keen to contest again from Narasaraopet Lok Sabha seat, the party asked him to contest from Guntur against sitting MP Galla Jaydev from opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Galla Jaydev is a prominent industrialist, Managing Director of Amar Raja group and two-time MP from Guntur district. According to reports, the ruling party has considered nominating a candidate from the Backward Class (BC) community to contest in Narasaraopet.