Adala quits RS race, CM Kiran's efforts pays off

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's last ditch efforts to convince Adala to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha race yielded fruit.

Rebel candidate Adala Prabhakar Reddy on Thursday withdrew his candidature from the Rajya Sabha elections.

With Adala refusing to withdraw from the contest, Congress leaders were in fear as poll is inevitable .

After an hour-long discussion with his colleagues and talks with CM Kiran over the phone, Adala finally announced this afternoon that he will not be contesting the Rajya Sabha elections.

Elaborating on his reasons to withdraw, Adala said that he felt that he can't be in race banking on YSRCP. He also said that he had withdrawn as desired by the CM. He thanked the MLAs who supported him. He claimed that he had received calls from 22 MLAs asking him to contest elections. "But 22 MLAs' support is not enough for winning Rajya Sabha seat," he added.

Congress Rajya Sabha candidates breathed a sigh of relief after Adala's announcement. It may be recalled that KVP broke down saying he will be defeated if the rebels did not withdraw their nomination.