Senior YSR Congress party MLA from Chodavaram in the newly-formed Anakapalle district Karanam Dharmasri has been appointed as the government whip in the Andhra Pradesh state assembly.
YSRC president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy made an announcement to this effect on Wednesday and orders (GO Ms No. 67) were issued immediately. He has been given the cabinet rank as the government whip.
Dharmasri, who had been a Youth Congress leader and a close follower of former chief minister late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, was first elected as an MLA from Madugula assembly constituency in the 2004 assembly elections.
Since then, he grew into a prominent leader of Visakhapatnam. He lost the elections in 2009 on Congress ticket with a thin margin due to the presence of Praja Rajyam Party.
He contested the 2014 elections on YSRC ticket but lost again with a slender margin. In 2019, however, he won as an MLA for the second time.
During the recent reshuffle of the cabinet by the chief minister, Dharmasri’s name came up prominently among the probables. But he failed to make it to the list, leading to strong protests by his followers. Some of them even burnt tyres on the roads to register their protest.
Dharmasri was also in tears for not being considered for the cabinet berth but did not revolt against the party. When Jagan went to Visakhapatnam recently, the MLA met him and the chief minister assured that he would give him a prominent position.
Within hours, Dharmasri was appointed as the Anakapalle district president of YSRC. And now, he has been given the post of government whip, which is a cabinet rank post. He is now jubilant with this double bonanza!
