Angry over the party's decision to give the Nalgonda and Bhongir Lok Sabha seats in Nalgonda district to its Left Front allies, Telugu Desam Party vice president and former Member of Parliament Gutta Sukhinder Reddy resigned on Saturday, delivering a major blow to the party ahead of the LS polls.
Reddy, who had represented Nalgonda in Parliament from 1999 to 2004 and was the senior most party leader in the district, today sent his resignation letter to TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.
"If both the Lok Sabha seats in the district are left to the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India - Marxist, what would be the future of the TDP," he asked.
Reddy, who was also angry after being denied a party ticket from Nalgonda or Manugodu, said that he will take a decision soon about joining another party. Speculations are rife that he is planning to join either the Congress or Praja Rajyam Party.
The TDP's decision to leave two Lok Sabha and several assembly seats to the Left parties has caused resentment and frustration in the party rank and file.
Political observers say that by the time the seat sharing agreement between the TDP and other partners of the Grand Alliance is finalised, many more leaders would have quit.
Reddy alleged that Naidu "had promised to give the Nalgonda Lok Sabha ticket to me but now he is denying any such promise."
The TDP has lost several senior leaders in the last few months. They include senior most TDP leader in Telangana region T Devender Goud, former MP Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his wife Shobha, and her father SV Subba Reddy in Kurnool district, former ministers Tammineni Sitaram and Kala Venkat Rao in Srikakulam district, Ch Ramachandraiah and Khaleel Basha in Kadapa district.
