Marthi Subrahmanyam
Vijayawada
Senior BJP leader Kanna Lakshminarayana made news on Thursday by joining the TDP. But the question is whether he can adjust himself to the regional party.
Kanna Laskhminarayana had been in the Congress party for over three decades and he was the minister for over 10 years in the combined AP state. Now, he joined the regional party TDP. Will the TDP use him as a trump card in the next elections as he is a powerful Kapu leader? First of all, will the TDP give due importance to Kanna Lakshminarayana? These are the questions being raised by the people of the State now. Kanna worked with the then Chief Ministers Kotla Viajaya Bhaskar Reddy, Nedurumilli Janardhan Reddy, YS Rajasekhar Reddy and N Kiran Kumar Reddy as a minister in their Cabinets.
Kanna carved a niche for himself in State politics and became a popular leader in the Kapu community. A senior leader of the TDP expressed doubt that the Kapu leaders, who have been in the TDP for several years, would cooperate with Kanna.
Kanna’s joining the TDP instead of the Jana Sena is clearly reflecting his political tactics and farsightedness, a senior leader commented.
Kanna understood that the Jana Sena has no strong cadre and leaders and that is why he joined the TDP, another leader opined. The BJP has failed to utilize the services and experience of Kanna Lakshminarayana. Though it is insulting to Kanna to work with Somu Veerraju, who was not elected even as a corporator, Kanna worked in the BJP, a close follower of Kanna said.
Now Chandrababu Naidu may take Kanna into the politburo. Naidu may also use Kanna against the YSRCP in Guntur and Krishna districts where the Kapus constitute a large chunk of voters.
Earlier, Congress leaders who are contemporaries of Kanna Lakshminarayana, including Mysoora Reddy, JC Diwakar Reddy, Pitani Satyanarayana, Kondru Murali, Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, and other leaders joined the TDP despite they were arch rivals of Naidu then. Naidu honoured them by giving them tickets to contest in LS and Assembly elections. Some of them including Pitani Satyanarayana were even inducted into Cabinet by Naidu.
Now some other leaders including former minister DL Ravindra Reddy, YSRCP MLAs Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, and Anam Ramanarayana Reddy revolted against the YSRCP leadership. They are likely to join the TDP. Dalit leader and Mahasena founder Rajesh also joined the TDP recently. Political experts say that those who joined the TDP would be given due importance by Chandrababu Naidu keeping in view the political situation in the State.
