Former minister from Prakasam district Siddha Raghava Rao on Friday rejected the proposal of YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy that he or his son Sudheer would be given the party ticket from Ongole assembly constituency in the ensuing assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
Siddha and Sudheer had a lengthy discussion with sitting Ongole MLA and former minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy, who conveyed to him that Jagan wants either father or son to contest from Ongole, while Balineni would be shifted to Giddaluru.
Siddha, however, has been asking for Darsi assembly seat or even Giddaluru, where there is a considerable percentage of Vysya population.
“Apparently, surveys indicated that the YSRCP is losing in Ongole. So, the party wants to send Balineni to a safer seat and make me or my son a scapegoat,” Siddha reportedly said.
Jagan is not interested in giving Darsi seat to Siddha, as he reportedly promised the same to another former MLA Buchepalli Sivaprasad Reddy.
Apparently, Siddha and his son want to withdraw from the contest in the coming elections without quitting the party. They would take a call on the future course of action after the elections, sources said.
