Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and Visakhapatnam (North) MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao is secretly working out a plan to engineer a split in the Telugu Desam Party and merge the splinter group with the Bharatiya Janata Party, according to latest rumours in the political circles.
Ganta, who has not been very actively participating in the TDP activities inside and outside the assembly, had been bringing pressure on party president and opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu to recommend his name for the post of Public Accounts Committee chairman, a cabinet rank post with huge powers.
However, Naidu finalised the name of his loyalist and senior MLA from Uravakonda n Anantapur district Payyavula Keshav for the PAC chairman post.
This has naturally angered leaders like Ganta and also seniors like Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary and Karanam Balaram.
Apparently, Naidu got the information that Ganta is looking towards other parties and had been passing on information about the TDP leaders to YSRC.
So, he thought it is better to reward a loyalist like Kesav, rather than relying on uncertain candidates like Ganta.
It is learnt Ganta has now started mobilising the support of like-minded TDP MLAs like Anagani Satyaprasad, Gadde Rammohan Rao, Ganababu and N Chinna Rajappa to break away from the party.
He is said to be in negotiations with the top BJP leadership, say sources.
