Former Telugu Desam Party legislator from Vijayawada (Central) Bonda Umamaheshwar Rao, who had been hinting at quitting the party and joining the YSR Congress party for quite some, has finally agreed to stay back in the TDP.
He is also said to be contemplating joining the YSRC along with his followers.
Bonda, who represents Kapu community, lost to YSRC’s Malladi Vishnu by a small margin in the recent assembly elections.
According to party sources, TDP Vijayawada (Urban) unit president Buddha Venkanna went to the residence of Bonda Uma on Saturday morning on behalf of party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to hold negotiations.
After prolonged discussions, finally Bonda agreed to stay back in the party and said there was no plan to join the YSRC for now.
It is not known what conditions Bonda has placed before Buddha Venkanna for not changing the party.
Bonda has been saying that he has no future in the TDP. Though there were reports that he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party, sources said the YSRC leadership has been bringing pressure on him to join the party.