Former Andhra Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas quits YSRCP citing 'personal reasons'
He decided to stay away from politics due to personal reasons
By Newsmeter Network Published on 12 Dec 2024 6:37 AM GMT
Amaravati: Former Andhra Pradesh Tourism minister and senior YSRCP leader Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao on Thursday resigned from the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP citing 'personal reasons'.
Rao, popularly known as Avanthi Srinivas, also withdrew from his responsibilities as in charge of the Bheemili Assembly constituency.
"Since I have decided to stay away from politics due to personal reasons, I am resigning from the YSRCP and Bheemili constituency in charge," said Rao in his resignation letter to Reddy. He thanked Reddy for the opportunities bestowed on him.
Speaking to the media, he said, "There was no respect for party leaders and cadres, both politically and financially, in the opposition party."
For the past few months, Srinivasa Rao had been maintaining distance from the party activities hinting at the exit from the party.
According to Rao, YSRCP party leaders and activists have suffered and endured a lot in the past five years.
He said forcing the cadres to agitate against the TDP-led NDA government in less than a year was inappropriate. Moreover, he noted that any political party has to function democratically.
Avanthi Srinivas runs Avanthi Education Institutes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana under the Avanthi Educational Society in Visakhapatnam. In May 2014, he was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha.
He entered politics in 2009 and was first elected as an MLA on the Praja Rajyam Party ticket from the Bhimili constituency. When the PRP, led by actor Chiranjeevi, merged with Congress, he switched loyalties to the TDP and won the Anakapalle parliamentary seat in the 2014 elections.
Just before the 2019 elections, he quit the TDP to join the YSRCP. He was elected from the Bheemili Assembly constituency for the second time in the 2019 elections. He had also won in the same constituency in 2009 and was appointed Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Youth Advancement of Andhra Pradesh.
In the 2024 Srinivasa Rao lost to TDP's Ganta Srinivasa Rao.
