Know your MLA: Despite odds, Palla remained loyal to TDP

Visakhapatnam : If one strives hard, he or she is certain not just to get recognised but also bag a plum post in the party and TDP Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao stands as a shining example for it. From a constituency leader to state president of the Telugu Desam Party and an MLA, Srinivasa Rao committed himself to the TDP and worked hard to strengthen it from the grassroots.

Whether he is in power or not, he has always been among the constituents and remained accessible to them, serving the party and people tirelessly. Belonging to one of the dominant communities in Visakhapatnam, Srinivasa Rao comes from the Yadava community. Despite having a political legacy, he entered into direct politics in 2009 through Chiranjeevi-led Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).

He got an opportunity to contest as Visakhapatnam MP for the first time from the PRP ticket. Although he was defeated in that elections by a narrow margin, his political career started brightening since then. When the Praja Rajyam Party was merged with the Congress, Srinivasa Rao continued in the Congress Party for a while.

In 2014, he joined the TDP before elections and contested from the Gajuwaka constituency as the party’s candidate. He won with a huge majority against YSR Congress Party candidate Tippala Nagireddy. However, the situation was totally different in the 2019 polls. Srinivasa Rao’s victory was predicted to be difficult as TDP, BJP, Jana Sena, Congress and Communist parties contested individually.

Although his victory was supposed to be certain, the equations changed when Jana Sena Party chief K Pawan Kalyan contested from the Gajuwaka constituency.

Apparently, Srinivasa Rao had fallen to the third position in the 2019 elections. Much to everyone’s surprise, Tippala Nagireddy was able to win over Pawan Kalyan. Part of his victory was attributed to the influence of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s wave.

Eventually, key leaders of the then ruling party had put a lot of pressure on Srinivasa Rao to join the YSRCP. However, the former MLA remained firm to his roots and did not think even once to switch loyalties. The YSRCP leadership targeted his assets as he refused to budge on taking on the government on various issues. Back then, his commercial building under construction was demolished. However, Srinivasa Rao continued to carry out TDP’s programmes without any deviation.

As Srinivasa Rao remained committed to the party, it appointed him as the district president of Visakhapatnam. Later, he worked tirelessly to strengthen the party in the district.

His wife who is working as an Assistant Professor in Andhra University, was suspended by former Vice Chancellor of Andhra University P V G D Prasad Reddy as part of revenge politics.

But he proved his ability in the 2024 polls by scoring the highest majority in the state. His committed fight for saving Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from getting privatised instilled confidence among constituents. He launched an indefinite hunger strike for protecting the VSP from getting sold to a private player.

Although his followers expected that he would get a place in the Cabinet, it did not happen. But the party leadership entrusted him with the responsibility of TDP state president. Srinivasa Rao stated that he will give top priority to the welfare of the party workers and strengthen the party from within. He assured the people of the constituency that he will always be accessible to them.