The sudden decision of Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to visit the residence of former Union minister Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy in Kurnool on Tuesday came as a surprise to many.
The TDP leadership was desperately trying to rope Kotla into the party, as there were reports that the YSR Congress party, too, was planning to attract him.
All said and done, Kotla is a respectable leader in Kurnool and he has his own clout as the son of former chief minister Vijayabhaskar Reddy, though he might have lost the elections because the people were angry with the Congress party. If he joins any other party, he has the capacity to win the seat. So, Naidu also wanted to get him into the TDP.
However, the visit did not materialize as Naidu was forced to drop the visit at the eleventh hour. Apparently, Naidu was told that Kotla was not interested in joining neither the TDP nor the YSRC. So, he thought there is no point in pampering the former union minister.
On the other hand, Kotla seems to have thought he could join the TDP, if Naidu himself comes to his residence. So, he was waiting for the visit of the TDP chief. Once he came to know that the chief minister was not visiting his house, Kotla changed his tune and put up a brave front.
“CM security staff told me that Naidu would be coming to my house. I would have welcomed him into the house and hosted him nice lunch. But somehow, he dropped the plan,” Kotla said.
He made it clear that he would not have joined the TDP even if Naidu came to him personally and made a request.
“I will not quit the Congress party under any circumstances. I would rather confine myself to agriculture,” Kotla told media.
