Nehru to join TDP today

Former Minister Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru) is going to join the Telugu Desam party amid fanfare on Thursday. The meeting will be a show of strength with thousands of his followers and supporters also joining the TDP along with him. Unlike all other leaders who joined the ruling party in closed convention centres, Mr. Rajasekhar has chosen a public meeting to be held in an open school (Bishop Grassi) ground in the heart of Gunadala the area where he lives and has maximum influence.

Several of his followers who have been with him through thick and thin are expected to shift over from the Congress at the public meeting that will be addressed by TDP president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The meeting is going to be preceded by a huge motor rally with hundreds of two-wheelers and four-wheelers from NTR Centre in Patamata to the venue.

Mr. Rajasekhar who has not been moving around much was seen visiting areas to request some of his followers to attend the public meeting and extend support to him. Vinyl hoardings were put all over the city announcing that Mr. Rajasekhar would join the Telugu Desam party at a venue in Christhurajapuram, a densely populated residential neighbourhood, in Gunadala, but the venue was changed to the Bishop Grassi High School grounds adjoining the Gunadala Matha Church after the Chief Minister’s Security rejected the former venue. Christhurajapuram was a favourite venue for Mr. Rajasekhar for public meetings while he was in Congress.

District Congress Committee president Kadiyala Butchibabu, former Deputy Mayor Cherukuri Krishna Kumar and former corporator Venkata Satyanarayana led by Mr. Rajasekhar’s son and State Youth Congress leader Devineni Avinash addressing a press conference said that over 7,000 persons would join the TDP along with their leader. Mr. Naidu would welcome the important leaders with yellow scarves, they said.

Published - September 15, 2016 12:00 am IST