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Journalism of Courage
Just over four years after he shot to the limelight following his victory over Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh, YSRCP Mangalagiri MLA A Ramakrishna Reddy on Monday resigned as MLA and from the party, claiming he wanted to take a break from politics.
However, sources said that the induction of his political rival into the YSRCP and repeated denial of a Cabinet berth led to an uneasy relationship with the party and his subsequent exit.
A staunch loyalist of former Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), Ramakrishna Reddy (55) joined the Congress in 1995. Despite his Congress colleagues describing him as hardworking, Ramakrishna Reddy was not given a ticket in the 1999, 2004 and 2009 elections.
Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, following the death of YSR, invited him to join the YSRCP, which was founded in 2011 following Jagan’s differences with the Congress. After his induction, Ramakrishna Reddy was at the forefront of filing cases against TDP leaders over alleged irregularities in the Amaravati capital region.
In 2014, Ramakrishna Reddy contested the Assembly elections on a YSRCP ticket from Mangalagiri and defeated Ganji Chiranjeevi, who belongs to the dominant weaver’s community, by a thin margin of 12 votes. In 2019, he trumped Lokesh by a margin of over 5,000 votes. Ramakrishna Reddy was chairman of AP Capital Region Development Authority from June 2019 to July 2020.
Despite Ramakrishna Reddy’s claims that he has quit to take a break from politics, his relationship with the party has been uneasy for the past few months. Party insiders say the Mangalagiri MLA’s resignation is to mount pressure on the leadership to elicit a response on his renomination in the upcoming polls.
The incumbent MLA’s chances of renomination took a beating after the YSRCP inducted his former rival Chiranjeevi, who has also been made Assembly incharge of Mangalagiri. The YSRCP, with Chiranjeevi’s elevation, is looking to tap into the backward class votes, which make up a significant chunk of the electorate.
The MLA, over the past several weeks, has been complaining that officials in his constituency were not responding to his requests to resolve issues faced by the people.
“I have no grievance against anybody. I want to take a break from politics. I thank the people of Mangalagiri for giving me two opportunities to serve them,’’ he said. However, party insiders said he has stopped all communication with the party after his resignation.
Ramakrishna Reddy may now look to join the Congress, which has lost relevance in the state post 2014. It is unlikely that he will join the TDP, which he has slammed during his entire political career.
Meanwhile, YSRCP insiders tried to downplay the MLA’s exit saying Ramakrishna Reddy’s brother and party’s Rajya Sabha MP, A Ayodhya Rami Reddy, will talk to him and the issue will be sorted soon.
