Ignoring the intense pressure from film star and Jana Sena party leader Pawan Kalyan, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu declared party old-timer Kesineni Srinivas as TDP’s candidate from Vijayawada.
This came after an intense lobbying by various quarters for the party ticket from the TDP citadel. Kesineni, a transporter and party’s constituency in charge for the last four years had received a shock recently when Naidu bowing to the pressure from Pawan Kalyan decided to nominate an industrialist P Vara Prasad.
Sources said that Pawan wanted ticket for the industrialist in exchange of his campaigning for the TDP. The reason for his keen interest in the industrialist was that he was reportedly the financier of the star’s political activity.
However strong protests from within the TDP and specially by the supporters of Kesineni forced Naidu’s hand who after much deliberation gave the B form of the party to Kesineni.
Pawan was yet to react to this new development as he was away campaigning for the BJP in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, TDP received yet another shot in the arm in coastal Andhra as one more Congress MP Magunta Srinivaslu Reddy joined the TDP. Naidu formally welcomed him in to the party fold. “Only Chandrababu Naidu can develop Seemandhra into Swarnandhra (Golden Andhra)”, Srinivasulu said.