Ongole: Karanam Balaram, son likely to join YSRCP soon

Ongole: TDP senior leader and Chirala MLA Karanam Balarama Krishnamurthy is said to be joining the ruling YSRCP in a day or two, according to sources. He is expected to meet YSRCP chief and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy after a formal meet with TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.

Karanam Balaram, known as an aggressive leader with a great mass following in Prakasam district, has served as MLA for four times and MP for once. He has a good relationship with the TDP president which is said to be reason for his remaining in the party though he was not offered any ministry in the TDP governments.

But, the closeness and intimacy are said to have broken ever since Naidu welcomed Gottipati Ravikumar, the arch rival of Balaram and MLA from Addanki into the party in 2015 and started giving priority. Balaram kept silent, though the party neglected the promise about the assured future of his son, Venkatesh and avoided sharing the dais with Ravikumar.

On the other hand, the YSRCP leaders have been trying to lure Balaram for years offering him and his son a bright future. It was speculated that Balaram and Venkatesh would join the YSRCP before 2019 elections, but the politics in the district took a twist when Chirala TDP candidate Amanchi Krishnamohan joined YSRCP and announced to contest on fan symbol. The TDP, left with no immediate options, fielded Balaram and won the seat.

The Chirala politics heated up once again as Pothula Suneetha, the TDP leader at Chirala and rival with Krishnamohan, joined YSRCP. Though the supporters of the two leaders tried to oppose one another, the local administration handled the incidents, but the party cadres wanted an aggressive leader like Krishnamohan, but not Krishnamohan himself. Meanwhile, the government started to impose hefty penalties on the granite mining companies, most of them are of TDP leaders to pressurise them join the ruling party or pay a heavy price.

On Wednesday, rumours of Balaram and son leaving TDP for YSRCP swirled. It is said that the ruling party has offered to field Balaram again in Chirala byelection while appointing Venkatesh as the in-charge of Parchuru Assembly constituency for now. Balaram is also said to be promised a ministry in the second half of the five-year rule, as a token of respect for his long career in public service. However, Karanam Balaram, Karanam Venkatesh, Amanchi Krishnamohan and Pothula Suneetha didn't respond to the attempts by The Hans India for clarification on the developments.