Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani has confirmed that he is not going to get the party ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the state.
He posted a message of Facebook a few hours ago that he had received a communication from party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu that he won’t get the party ticket for the Vijayawada Lok Sabha seat and that another candidate would get the opportunity.
Kesineni also mentioned that a team of TDP leaders including Alapati Raja, Nettem Raghuram and Konakalla Narayana came to him last night and told him to stay away from Naidu’s public meeting at Tiruvuru to be held on January 7.
“I was asked not to interfere in the party affairs in NTR district. I will abide by his directions,” he said.
Hours later, Kesineni told reporters that he was still a Lok Sabha member from Vijayawada till May 2024 and would score a hattrick in the coming elections.
“It is certain that I will go to Delhi. If I miss one flight, there is always another flight. If I don’t get seat any flight, I will have to hire a chartered flight,” he said, indicating that he was ready to contest even as an independent.
Stating that his political future would be decided by the people of Vijayawada, Kesineni said he had complete faith on them.
“I have done a lot of work in the constituency and so, I am confident of winning the elections even as an independent. If I remain jobless, my people and followers will not keep quiet,” he said.
Kesineni said getting into petty political fights was not his nature.
“But that doesn’t mean I am weak and meek. I kept myself away from Tiruvuru meeting only to avoid troubles. I did not participate in Yuva Galam padayatra of Lokesh in Vijayawada, only to ensure that it went off peacefully,” he said.
He asserted that he had never backstabbed Chandrababu Naidu.
“Had I done that I would have been in much better position. I never wanted to leave Chandrababu Naidu; it’s he, who is keeping me at bay,” he said.
