With the resignation threat by senior legislator from Rajahmundry (rural) Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary rocking the Telugu Desam Party in the recent past, party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is trying hard to stem the rot in the party.
Naidu had to do a lot of firefighting exercise to stop Buchaiah Chowdary from quitting the party. Apart from speaking to Chowdary personally, Naidu sent a delegation of senior party leaders from East Godavari to hold a series of negotiations with him, offering an olive branch.
Buchaiah Chowdary, who announced that he would take a call on his future course of action on August 25, remained silent for now. It is not exactly known what Naidu had promised him and whether he has changed his mind on his resignation plan.
It may be mentioned that Buchaiah Chowdary announced resignation from the party, expressing resentment over the humiliation meted out to him from the party leadership, particularly TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh.
Sources said the YSRC leadership has already laid the bait for Buchaiah Chowdary and soon after quitting the TDP, he would take a plunge into the ruling party. It is learnt Buchaiah got in touch with Jagan during his recent visit to East Godavari district.
Similarly, Naidu is trying to pacify another senior TDP leader from East Godavari district and former MLA from Jaggampet Jyothula Nehru, who has been keeping away from the party activities after resigning from TDP vice-president post during the local body elections.
There were reports that Nehru, who had been in the YSRC in the past and defected to the TDP later, was planning to return to the YSRC.
A few days ago, Nehru suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Bollineni Hospital in Rajahmundry for treatment.
Even before the TDP leaders reached out to him in the hospital, several YSRC leaders agriculture minister Kurasala Kannna Babu and MLAs Jakkampudi Raja and Satti Suryanarayana Reddy went to the hospital to call on the senior leader.
Realising that the YSRC leaders might rope Nehru back into their party, Naidu personally spoke to him over phone and also sent his party leaders to call on him in the hospital.
On Friday, Naidu called on Nehru at Asian Institute of Gastroenterology at Hyderabad, where the latter was shifted from Rajahmundry.
The TDP chief spoke to Nehru’s family members and recalled his association with him in the last four decades. He spoke to the doctors and asked them to extend the best possible treatment to Nehru.
Maybe, Naidu is expecting that this personal touch would change Nehru’s mind and he would remain in the TDP.