In an interesting turn, Nuzvid TDP MLA Chinnam Ramakotaiah met Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and AICC general secretary and State Congress affairs in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Sunday. Congress Rajya Sabha member Chiranjeevi was also present when he met them in a hotel here.
When the media questioned Ramakotaiah about it, he said he had not come to Tirupati to meet the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Azad. He said that he had come to the temple town to have a darshan of the Lord on his birthday. He said that he had only met Chiranjeevi. Stating that he would be an MLA till 2014, the TDP MLA has said till then he would not leave the party. He said that in 2014, he would join a party that would appeal to him.
Meanwhile, minister Parthasarathy denied that Ramakotaiah would be joining the Congress. He said that he had met the Chief Minister and Azad only as a matter of courtesy.
Chinnam Ramakotaiah has been unhappy since some time with the way he was being treated by the local leaders. He created ripples by stating that he would not contest on the TDP ticket in 2014 even if it was offered to him, as he was unsure of his party’s victory. Rumors have been doing the rounds that he would join the YSR Congress. Some YSRC leaders had also been in touch with him.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu has called up Ramakotaiah and asked him to meet him. Following this, the TDP MLA came to Tirupati and met Naidu. Talking to the media later, he said that he would not leave TDP till 2014. However, he has surprised every one by meeting the Chief Minister and Azad. It is learnt that Chinnam has decided that it would be better to join the Congress as YSRC already has a candidate for Nuzvid for the next elections.
Ramakotaiah told the media after meeting Naidu that he had promised party ticket in the 2014 elections. He, however, said that he had no confidence that cadres would cooperate with him. Stating that all parties were equal to him, Ramakotaiah said that he had no intention of joining any party till 2014.
Stating that he had good relations with all political parties, Ramakotaiah said that he would consider which party would be suitable to his ideals and join it in 2014. When asked about the reports that he was planning to join the Congress in the presence of Azad, he said that he did not even know that the AICC leader was in Tirupati. (NSS)