TDP MLA from Visakhapatnam North Assembly constituency and former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao is likely to seek high court intervention on his resignation. The MLA had sent his resignation to the Assembly speaker in 2021 in support of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant agitation. As the speaker had not accepted the resignation, the former minister is planning to seek the court intervention to get his resignation accepted.

Ganta Srinivasa Rao had sent his resignation first on February 6, 2021. He again sent the resignation in the speaker format on February 12, 2021. He met speaker Thammineni Sitharam and made a personal request to accept his resignation. Again on March 15, 2022 during the budget session, the former minister had sent a reminder to the speaker to accept his resignation.

With the speaker not responding to his requests, the former minister is actively considering the proposal to file a case in the high court seeking direction to the speaker to accept his resignation. While it is not known whether the high court would give such a direction to the speaker, particularly in the light of the Assembly debating on the court rulings, the former minister had reportedly approached some senior advocates.

The former minister is supporting the agitation by the trade unions against privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. He had extended his support to the agitation and is being part of the agitation by the trade unions of the steel plant.

Ganta Srinivasa Rao is an influential leader in Visakhapatnam and is one of the four MLAs elected from the city on the TDP ticket in the 2019 elections. While he had sent his resignation, another MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar from the Visakhapatnam South constituency had differed with the party leadership.

If Ganta Srinivasa Rao’s resignation is accepted, the TDP’s strength would come down to 22 members including its chief Chandrababu Naidu. Besides Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, the TDP had also lost Chirala MLA Karanam Balarama Krishna Murthy, Guntur MLA Maddali Giridhar and Gannavaram MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan, who are now disassociating with the TDP and aligned with the ruling YSR Congress.

Sources say that if the speaker accepts Ganta Srinivasa Rao’s resignation, the other three TDP legislators are also likely to give their resignations and seek re-election on YSR Congress ticket. In such a case, the TDP’s strength would come down to 19 members, just on the edge of retaining the Opposition party recognition.