In a fresh setback to the YSRCP, former minister Muttamsetti Srinivas Rao, popularly known as Avanthi Srinivas, has tendered his resignation from the party.
Srinivas cited “personal reasons” in his resignation letter to YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy behind his decision to quit as the constituency in charge of Bheemli as well as from the party’s primary membership. He is likely to join Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.
Srinivas had distanced himself from the party’s political programme ever since he lost to TDP’s Ganta Srinivas Rao. He had joined the YSRCP in 2019, just before the elections.
He was inducted into the Cabinet and served as a minister for tourism and culture till he was dropped in April 2022.
In his resignation letter, he wrote, “I am resigning as the Bheemli constituency in charge as well as from the primary membership of the YSRCP due to personal reasons. I thank you for the opportunity you have given me.”
In a subtle dig at YSRCP supremo, the two-time MLA from Bheemli said it was inappropriate to ask YSRCP leaders and activists to agitate against the less-than-a-year-old TDP-led NDA government. He also indicated that YSRCP as a party lacked inner democracy and its activists and leaders endured a lot in the past five years.
Avanthi Srinivas made his political debut with Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam party in 2009 and got elected as MLA from Bheemli. After Chiranjeevi merged his party with the Congress, Srinivas, who runs educational institutions, shifted to TDP and was elected MP of Anakapalle in 2014.
After the electoral debacle in June, the YSRCP has been losing key leaders, including sitting MPs, MLCs, former ministers, and MLAs. Many of them veered towards Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena after quitting YSRCP.