Lanco Group CEO Business Development Naga Prasad Kandimalla has left the organisation and joined the Telugu Desam Party to pursue politics as full time career.
Kandimalla's exit assumes significance as the company is reeling under financial crisis and CDR package sought by the debt-laden group is under process.
Having over a decade stint with the infrastructure major, Kandimalla was instrumental in key developments such as acquisition of Griffin Coal in Western Australia in 2011.
Confirming the development, a senior official of Lanco said Kandimalla left the organisation last month.
Kandimalla said he joined politics as he feels that all educated people in the country should connect with politics in one way or the other.
"I believe that people are nowadays shying away from talking about politics leave alone joining it. You cannot blame politics from outside. Rather you join them to cleanse by being within if you want to give Indian politics a new direction," Kandimalla told PTI today.
He was also on the board of Lanco resources Australia Pty, a subsidiary of Lanco which has acquired Griffin Coal for AUD 750 million.
Two years ago, Lanco's CFO J Suresh Kumar left the organisation to head a Bangalore-based Shree Renuka Energy.
Meanwhile, the Lanco official quoted above said they expect the CDR package from lenders to be in place by February.
"The CDR would give us breathing time for two years. We expect it to materialise by February," the official said.
Under the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) plan, more than Rs 7,000 crore would be re-jigged by the company. There would be moratorium on interest payments for fund-based facilities, which would be in place for two years.
Lanco is faced with financial problems like receivables to the tune of nearly Rs 4,000 crore from various Discoms and continuous loss by Griffin Coal.
The Australian coal mine registered Rs 391 crore loss on Rs 954 crore revenues during the last financial year.
