The recent visit of Anakapalli Janasena candidate and former minister Konatala Ramakrishna to the house of TDP’s former minister and senior leader Daadi Veerabhadra Rao has sparked discussions about the dynamics of political relationships. This visit is seen as evidence that in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends.
Daadi Veerabhadra Rao, who entered politics four decades ago as a TDP member, had been a political opponent of Konatala Ramakrishna.
They contested against each other in various elections, representing different parties. However, their paths crossed when both joined the YSRCP, though they didn’t share the same platform.
Daadi Veerabhadra Rao, who entered politics after joining the Telugu Desam Party about four decades ago from teaching career, first contested as an MLA from Anakapalli in 1985 and won.
At that time, Konatala Ramakrishna’s family was in the jaggery business. Daadi Veerabhadra Rao contested the assembly elections held in 1989 for the second time.
At the same time, Konatala Ramakrishna joined the Congress party and contested for the Lok Sabha from Anakapalli with the encouragement of senior Congress leader Dronamaraju Satyanarayana.
Veerabhadra Rao won as MLA and Ramakrishna as MP. Since then they have continued to be political opponents.
Later in 1991, Konatala Ramakrishna once again contested as a Congress candidate in the by-elections to the Lok Sabha and won. Three years later, in 1994 assembly elections, Daii won the third term as MLA and achieved a hat-trick.
Two years later, in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Konatala contested for the third time as a Congress candidate and lost to the TDP candidate Ayyannapatrudu.
Again, in 1999, Lok Sabha by-elections came without turning a year. Assembly elections were also held at the same time.
Konatala Ramakrishna contested for the Assembly as a Congress candidate this time. As usual, Daadi contested from TDP. Veerabhadra Rao won with a majority of 3,711 votes in this fierce battle.
Since then, the political conflict has been increasing. Again in the elections held in 2004, there was an attack from the TDP and the Congress faced ups and downs.
While Konatala won this election, Daadi Veerabhadra Rao suffered defeat for the first time.
In the 2009 elections, Konatala contested from the Congress, Veerabhadra Rao contested from the TDP, while Ganta Srinivasa Rao contested from the newly formed Praja Rajyam Party. Ganta won this election which was a three-way contest.
After the death of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Konatala Ramakrishna joined the YSR Congress Party formed by his son Jaganmohan Reddy. Before the 2014 elections, Daadi Veerabhadra Rao left the TDP and joined the YSRCP.
Although the two leaders belong to the same party, there is no record of them sharing the same platform anywhere.
In the recent turn of events, Daadi Veerabhadra Rao, along with his sons Ratnakar and Jayveer, rejoined the TDP, while Konatala Ramakrishna joined the Janasena party.
Anakapalli seat was allotted to Janasena as part of the TDP-Janasena alliance, and Konatala Ramakrishna was announced as the candidate.
Konatala Ramakrishna’s visit to Daadi Veerabhadra Rao’s house is seen as a gesture to put aside their long-standing political feud.
He politely met Daadi and sought cooperation for the upcoming elections, highlighting the flexible and dynamic nature of political alliances and relationships.
