YSRCP’s new district chairman and former MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, a close follower of Ganta, is keen to woo senior leaders in time for the 2024 general election, sources said.
Published Date – Sat 26 Nov 22 06:57pm
YSRCP’s new district chairman and former MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, a close follower of Ganta, is keen to woo senior leaders in time for the 2024 general election, sources said.
Visakhapatnam: Former minister from northern Visakhapatnam and Telugu SAM MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao is preparing to join the ruling YSR Congress party next month.
According to sources, YSRCP’s new district chairman and former MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, a close follower of Ganta, is keen to woo senior leaders in time for the 2024 general election to strengthen the party and steer it home.
As the largest leader of the new generation in North Andhra Pradesh, Ganta also tried to enter the ruling party earlier, but failed because of the YSRCP’s policy of accepting people’s representatives from other parties after resigning.
Recently, however, it appears to have eased its stance, embracing many leaders, large and small, including those who have harshly criticized it in the past, and even giving them some nice posts. At least four TDP lawmakers are now with the ruling party as associate members, including Visakhapatnam South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, which should help the entry of Ganta, the most sought-after leader of all parties, Because he has all the credentials — undefeated in every field, campaigned for the past two decades, proven polling strategist, and known for deep pockets and power.
When he attended Mega Star Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam party, he was said to have played well, allowing supporters including newcomers such as Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, former minister Avanti Srinivasa Rao and Chintalapudi Venkatramaiah to win by a sizeable margin. Before Chiranjeevi merged his PRP into the Congress party, TDP chairman N. Chandrababu Naidu was said to have urged him to join the TDP, but Ganta then preferred the ruling Congress party. Shortly thereafter, he joined the TDP on his own terms in the run-up to the 2014 polls, earning his followers tickets to the election and becoming a key member of Chandrababu’s cabinet.
Although the TDP was swept away by the Jagan wave in 2019, Ganta was rock solid, feeling that the YSRCP was going from strength to strength, winning all the local body elections and trying to leapfrog.
Ganta has opted to keep his distance from the TDP since it lost steam, but has occasionally popped up when Jagan was thought to be losing momentum. However, with the YSRCP now firmly seated, he appears to have decided to join and Panchakarla is preparing for his grand entry into the ruling party.
