The Vangaveeti family in Vijayawada has some history. Whether one likes the family or not, it commands greater support in the coastal districts. The support remains intact even after three decades after the death of Vangaveeti Mohan Ranga Rao.
Unfortunately, the successors of Ranga seems to have failed to carry forward the legacy of late Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga Rao.
When Ranga was murdered in 1988, his widow Rathna Kumari did not allow then chief minister N T Rama Rao to enter her house to console her. She had closed the gates of her house and refused to open the gates forcing NTR to return without meeting her.
But, later in 1997 Rathna Kumari switched over to the TDP following her differences with the Congress leadership.
Unfortunately, she could not survive in politics and had to slowly fade out from active politics.
In 2004, her son, Vangaveeti Radhakrishna entered active politics and contested on Congress ticket with the support of late Dr Rajasekhar Reddy. That was his first election as the legal heir of late Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga.
Radhakrishna left Congress and Dr Rajasekhar Reddy to join Chiranjeevi in 2009. He contested on Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party and lost the 2009 elections.
Later, when Praja Rajyam Party merged with the Congress, he did not return to the party, but remained independent.
However, when Jagan Mohan Reddy launched YSR Congress Radhakrishna joined the party but left the party to join the Jana Sena before the 2014 elections.
He again left Jana Sena and joined the TDP before the 2019 elections and could not contest.
Now the big question is how are the heirs of Ranga, who fought against TDP, are sailing with that party (TDP).
When the supporters, sympathisers, admirers and loyalists of the family who believe that TDP had killed Ranga, how is the heirs are travelling with the same party!
Can this shift be termed as a fall or political opportunism?
