Kesineni Nani says Naidu denied him TD ticket for 2024 but would contest poll

VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam MP Kesineni Srinivas alias Nani said here on Friday that TD chief Chandrababu Naidu has informed him that he will not be getting the party ticket for Vijayawada in the 2024 elections. “Naidu instructed me not to interfere too much in party affairs in NTR district. I would oblige whatever Chandrababu orders,” he said in a message on Facebook.

Kesineni Nani said a team of TD leaders including Alapati Raja, Nettem Raghuram and Konakalla Narayana met him on Thursday night and asked him to stay away from Naidu’s public meeting at Tiruvuru on January 7.

MP Nani said, “I never backstabbed Naidu. Had I done that, I would have been in a much better position. I never wanted to leave Chandrababu Naidu. It’s he who is keeping me at bay,” he said.

Kesineni Nani stressed that he would be the Lok Sabha member from Vijayawada till May 2024 and would score a hat trick in the coming elections.

Indicating that he is ready to contest even as an independent, he said, “It is certain that I will go to Delhi (again as MP). If I miss one flight, there is another flight. If I don’t get a seat in any flight, I will hire a chartered flight.”

Stating that his political future would be decided by the people of Vijayawada, Kesineni said he had complete faith in them. “I have done a lot of work in the constituency and so I am confident of winning the elections. If I remain jobless, my people and my followers will not keep quiet,” he said.

Kesineni Nani claimed that getting into petty political fights was not in his nature, and added, “But that doesn’t mean I am weak and meek. I kept myself away from the Tiruvuru meeting only to avoid troubles. I did not participate in the Yuva Galam padayatra of Lokesh in Vijayawada only to ensure that it went off peacefully.”