Chandrababu Naidu's co-brother Venkateswara Rao to work with YSR Congress

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's co-brother Daggubati Venkateswara Rao on Sunday met YSR Congress President Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy and decided to work with the opposition party.

Venkateswara Rao, whose wife D. Purandeswari is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), met Jaganmohan Reddy at the latter's Lotus Pond residence here. He was accompanied by his son Hitesh Chenchuram, who is an aspirant for a YSR Congress ticket for the ensuing elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

Venkateswara Rao, the eldest son-in-law of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, told reporters that they discussed working with the YSR Congress. He said they would make an announcement soon on joining the party.

He also made it clear that Purandeswari will remain in the BJP. "She will remain with the party or retire from politics. That is her personal decision," he said.

Purandeswari was a Union Minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet before switching loyalties to the BJP after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Venkateswara Rao was not active in politics since 2014.

The decision of Venkateswara Rao and his son to join the YSR Congress is the latest political twist in the NTR family. As Venkateswara Rao is known as an arch rival of Chandrababu Naidu, his induction in the YSR Congress would be significant for the party ahead of the simultaneous polls to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and the Lok Sabha.

Venkateswara Rao had joined the TDP soon after actor-turned-politician NTR floated it in 1983. The same year he was elected to the state Assembly and was re-elected in 1985. He also served as a minister in NTR's Cabinet. In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bapatla constituency.

In 1995, a few months after the TDP returned to power in Andhra Pradesh, Venkateswara Rao sided with Chandrababu Naidu in the revolt against NTR but returned to the latter's camp a few weeks later when Naidu sidelined him.

After NTR's death in 1996, he along with NTR's second wife Lakshmi Parvathi founded a new party -- NTR TDP. However, the party failed to make any impact on state politics.

In 1999, he joined hands with NTR's son Harikrishna to launch a new party called Anna TDP. This experience also proved a disaster as it drew a blank in the elections.

In 2004, he along with Purandeswari joined the Congress. He was elected to the Assembly from Purchur while Purandeswari was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bapatla. She became a minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Purandeswari joined the BJP and contested unsuccessfully for the Lok Sabha but her husband had since been staying away from active politics.

--IANS

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