Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had to face a bitter experience in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, when he went there as part of his Praja Chaitanya Yatra.
All senior leaders of the party not only from north coastal Andhra, but also from different parts of the state came to Visakhapatnam to stand by their party boss who was heckled, booed and attacked with chappals, eggs and tomatoes by YSRC party workers.
One person who was conspicuous by his absence in the entire high drama was Visakhapatnam North MLA and former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao.
While the other TDP MLAs from Visakhapatnam – Vasupalli Ganesh, Velagapudi Ramakrishna and Gana Babu organised a grand welcome for Naidu and were prevented from the police from going to the airport, Ganta was nowhere to be seen.
Even after Naidu was arrested and taken back into the airport, Ganta did not come to the airport to call on Naidu.
And when all the other TDP leaders starting from Kala Venkat Rao to Varla Ramaiah issued press statements condemning Naidu’s arrest and the YSRC workers’ attack on him, there was no word from the Vizag (north) MLA.
It created a suspicion as to whether Ganta was moving away from the TDP or whether he was apprehensive that he might lose his support base if he sailed with Naidu who is strongly resisting the shifting of capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam.
Let us watch out the next moves of Ganta.