In politics, selfish interests are paramount when compared to party interests. This has once again been proved in the case of Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
For quite some time, there has been a cold war between two ministers from Visakhapatnam district – roads and buildings minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu and higher education minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao.
Of the two, Ayyanna is senior and has been loyal to the TDP right from the beginning, On the other hand, Ganta was in and out of the TDP – he joined the Praja Rajyam Party and then Congress party, before returning to the TDP. For him, the objective of politics is to serve his business interests.
Yet, Naidu has come to the support of Ganta and ignored the issues raised by Ayyanna with regard to sensational Visakhapatnam land scam.
It was evident from the way Naidu appointed Ganta’s close follower Panchakarla Ramesh Babu as president of the Visakhapatnam rural unit of the TDP, thanks to the intense lobbying by Ganta.
Ramesh Babu, a businessman and MLA from Yelamanchili Assembly segment, was also a Congress leader with Praja Rajyam Party background who embraced the TDP under the leadership of Ganta before 2014 Assembly elections.
Ayyanna Patrudu opposed the appointment of Ramesh Babu tooth and nail stating that the party cannot promote turncoats at the cost of loyalists. Yet, Naidu ignored his argument and promoted Ramesh Babu.
It is definitely a major setback for Ayyanna who is defending the cause of locals in his fight against outsiders represented by Ganta.
