Revanth Reddy Resigns From TDP, Assembly Seat

Ending over 2 weeks of speculation, Kodangal MLA and Telangana TDP Working President Anumula Revanth Reddy today tendered his resignation from the primary membership of the party as well as from the Assembly.

He reportedly faxed his resignation letter to Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary.

Telangana TDP leaders arrived in Vijayawada today to discuss Revanth Reddy's affairs with party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. Reddy, too, reached Vijayawada as directed by the party president on Friday.

Speaking to the media, Reddy said that he had utmost respect for the party's national president Chandrababu Naidu. The developments in the party in the recent days had however hurt him, he said, and asserted that his fight was against Telangana Chief Minister and TRS president K Chandrashekar Rao.

While Reddy said that he had sent his resignation letter to Naidu, the latter said that he had not received any resignation letter from Reddy.

Ever since Reddy's visit to Delhi earlier this month, speculations were rife that he would be joining the Congress. It was said that Reddy had decided to quit the TTDP as Naidu was exploring the possibility of a tie-up with the TRS for the 2019 general elections, the party of Reddy's bete noire, Telangana CM KCR, who had jailed Reddy after the note-for-vote scandal. Reddy alleged that party seniors were exerting pressure on Naidu to talk to the TRS for an alliance, when he himself was in favour of an alliance with the Congress.

Reddy was facing a rebellion from within the party as the TTDP leaders didn't follow his fiat of launching an offensive against the TRS government and KCR. The party's internal conflict came out into the open when both Reddy and Payyavula Keshav accused each other of being corrupt. Reddy then also made the sensational allegation that some Andhra Pradesh ministers had gotten contracts worth hundreds of crores from the Telangana government. In the wake of this outburst, Reddy was stripped of his post as party floor leader in the Assembly on October 25, and several TDP leaders, including Telangana unit president L Ramana and senior leader Motkupalli Narasimhulu had demanded that Reddy be completely expelled from the party for his open moves to cross over to the Congress.

12 of the TDP's 15 legislators have already defected to the TRS. With Reddy's resignation now, the TDP's tally in the 119-member Assembly will be reduced to two.

It is learnt that Naidu is likely to discuss the fallout of the Revanth Reddy issue with the Telangana party leaders.

In 2006, Revanth Reddy had won as a ZPTC member by polling 51.65% of the votes against an independent candidate in the Midjil constituency. In 2008, he was elected as an MLC as an independent candidate. Later he met Chandrababu Naidu and joined the Telugu Desam Party. In 2009, he was elected to the Assembly from the Kodangal constituency by polling 46.45% of the votes.

During his first term of office, Reddy started the construction of the Kosigi bus depot and a polytechnic college. He retained his seat in the 2014 elections by a majority of 14,614 votes. Later, he was elected as floor leader of the Telugu Desam Party in the Telangana Legislative Assembly.