A young minister in the Nara Chandrababu Naidu cabinet in Andhra Pradesh is under fire from the Telugu Desam Party rank and file for publicly displaying his loyalty to senior YSR Congress party leader and former minister Botsa Satyanarayana a couple of days ago.
According to reports, this young minister Kondapalli Srinivas representing Gajapathinagaram constituency in Vizianagaram district, was spotted greeting Botsa Satyanarayana at Visakhapatnam airport and touching the latter’s feet.
It may be mentioned that Srinivas was a close follower of Botsa till the last assembly elections and he had joined the TDP months before the elections and was lucky to get the cabinet post.
Yet, he continued to rub shoulders with the YSRCP leaders in the district, particularly Botsa, who is known for his relentless criticism and allegations against the TDP in general and Chandrababu Naidu in particular.
The latest episode of Kondapalli Srinivas touching the feet of Botsa in front of his followers and other TDP leaders at the Visakhapatnam airport, caused significant discontent and anger among alliance leaders and party workers.
While the minister refers to Botsa as his political mentor, questions are being raised about the signals this gesture sends to the alliance cadre.
Political analysts opine that TDP cadres in Vizianagaram, who once faced humiliation at the hands of Botsa, are now feeling deeply disappointed by this incident.
Observers are now keen to see how senior leaders in the alliance government will respond to the minister’s actions.
If ordinary party workers had shown such conduct, would disciplinary actions have been taken against them, they ask.
Apparently, Naidu has decided to drop Kondapalli Srinivas from the cabinet when he reshuffles it on January 8, sources said.
