The president of the Telangana unit of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), L Ramana, tendered his resignation in a letter to party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and said that he has decided to join the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the state. Ramana, who hails from Jagtial in Telangana, was heading the state unit for a few years. In his letter to Chandrababu Naidu, Ramana said that he took the decision in view of the changing political equations in the state, with an objective to reach out to more people and to be part of the progress of Telangana.
Ramana has served two times as MLA and once as MP. He had also served as a state Minister of Handlooms in united Andhra Pradesh between 1994 and 1996. The development came a day after he met with the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) at Pragati Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday. Reports suggest that Ramana had discussed his political fortunes in the TRS before joining the party.
Ramana, hailing from a weaker section background, was known as a loyalist to TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. He also thanked the TDP and its cadre for supporting him in his three decades of political life in his resignation letter. In a quick response to Ramana's exit from the party, Telangana TDP leaders have said that it won't affect their party and stated that it was an expected development.
Senior TDP leader Amboji Joji Reddy said that those who backstab the party for their own gains, will not see any fair future. Joji Reddy alleged that the timing of Ramana's exit was merely a “mind game” by KCR to create chaos among TDP cadres and to prevent the party from contesting in the upcoming Huzurabad bye-elections. Joji Reddy demanded that the TDP’s national leadership take stock of the situation and appoint a new president immediately, beside five other leaders as working presidents, to head the Telangana unit of the party and to restore its strength.
The latest blow comes after the Telugu Desam Legislature Party was merged with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi Legislature Party (TRSLP) in April this year. Two MLAs, Machha Nageshwar Rao and Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, who had defected to the TRS, handed over a letter granting their assent to the merger to the Assembly Speaker..
Political observers say that Ramana's decision to join the TRS was decided during KCR's visit to Jagtial district. According to reports, KCR has been trying to sort out political equations by placating leaders from different weaker sections, ahead of the Huzurabad bye-election, which is necessitated following the ouster of senior TRS leader Eatala Rajender. Eatala, who was serving as the Health Minister, was unceremoniously sacked, following which he joined the BJP in the state.