Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former minister Alapati Rajendra Prasad, who has been a staunch loyalist of party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is apprehensive that he might not get the chance to get the party ticket from his native constituency Tenali this time.
Reason: Alapati is learnt to have got the indication that he might have to sacrifice the Tenali assembly seat, which he had represented in the past, for Jana Sena Party as part of the alliance between two parties.
If the alliance materialises, the Tenali seat might have to be allotted to Jana Sena political affairs committee convenor Nadendla Manohar, who also represented the seat in the past.
On Friday, Alapati spoke in a philosophical tone on Tenali seat.
“There is no guarantee that Tenali seat would be allotted to me. It is not my property. Earlier, I contested from Vemuru and later shifted to Tenali. So, there is no need for me to mentally prepared to contest only from Tenali seat,” he reminded.
Stating that he was mentally strong person, Alapati said he had accepted whatever was offered to him.
“I became an MLA and was even inducted into the cabinet. So, there is no need to worry about my political career. It will be taken care of by my party president N Chandrababu Naidu,” he said.
Alapati refused to comment on the possibility of an alliance between the TDP and Jana Sena Party.
“The party leadership will take a call on the alliances. It will also decide who should contest from where,” he said.
Alapati said Naidu was very much aware of his capabilities – right from the days when he was the Telugu Yuvatha president between 1989 and 1994.
“I have been in the party for the last 33 years and strived a lot for the party. I never craved for any posts or position,” he said.
At present, Alapati is the TDP in-charge of Tenali constituency and is tipped to be the party candidate in the next elections. At the same time, Nadendla had defeated him during the Congress regime.
So, if there is an alliance between the TDP and Jana Sena, the question will naturally come as to who will contest from Tenali. That is why Alapati made the statement saying he was ready for any eventuality.