Hyderabad: Former minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy, who holds a record for defeating six TD candidates in a row, from Tadipatri, in Anantapur district, on Sunday, joined the Opposition party in the presence of party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Interestingly, both are neighbours at Jubilee Hills here. Mr Naidu had himself led several protest rallies and dharnas against Mr Diwakar Reddy for his alleged excesses in the district as Congress minister.
The entry of Mr Diwakar Reddy, whose family was with the Congress for six decades, is expected to rework the political arithmetic in Anantapur. His son Pavan Kumar Reddy, an industrialist, also joined the TD. Though scores of Congressmen have joined the TD recently, for many of them it was a ‘homecoming’.
Mr Diwakar Reddy is expected to be fielded to the Lok Sabha from Anantapur, of which Tadipatri Assembly segment is a part. Either son Pavan or brother J.C. Prabhakar Reddy would be given the Tadipatri Assembly ticket, according to party sources.
Vijayawada East Congress MLA Yalamanchali Ravi also joined the TD in the presence of Mr Naidu.
