TDP founder member Kura Venkatesham (Algolu) today joined the YSR Congress Party as he was fed up with his Party President N Chandrababu Naidu and his policies.
Talking to reporters here, Mr Algolu, who had contested against Indira Gandhi in Medak Parliament elections, said he was harassed by the Congress. The same methodology was being used now on Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, he claimed. Tracing the history of TDP, he told reporters that he and Tatineni Rama Rao along with Nadendla Bhaskara Rao created the Telugu Desam Party and brought in NTR.
The senior leader from Zaheerabad alleged that TDP under N Chandrababu Naidu had become a real estate enterprise and ‘seniors earn no more respect’. Mr Algolu, who was among the think-tank of TDP said, the Rs two-a-kg rice scheme was started to counter the popularity of Indira Gandhi while Chandrabau Naidu had scraped the scheme. YSR brought back the Rs two a kg rice scheme as he was aware of the public pulse. “This was one more reason, which attracted me to the party,” he said. People were fed-up with Congress and TDP, he said, adding under the present circumstances, they needed a change and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was the only alternative. UNI