In a major blow to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Telangana, its senior leader and former MP Nama Nageswara Rao resigned from the party on Tuesday.
Nageswara Rao, a member of the TDP's politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party, was apparently unhappy with the party leadership for some time.
In the recent Assembly elections, he had contested from Khammam constituency as the candidate of the Congress-led People's Alliance but was defeated.
An industrialist, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Khammam in 2009. He was then one of the richest MPs in the country with declared assets of Rs 338 crore. In December 2018, his assets stood at Rs 113 crore.
Apparently feeling that the TDP has no future in Telangana, he decided to quit the party. He had called on Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K Chandrashekhar Rao a couple of days ago.
He is likely to join the TRS and may contest next month's Lok Sabha elections on the party ticket from Khammam.
Nageswara Rao is one of the last key leaders of the TDP in Telangana to quit the party.
In the recent elections, the TDP won two seats in the 119-member Assembly with one of the MLAs switching loyalty to the ruling party.
Violence Follows Andhra Polls As Jagan Reddy, C Naidu's Party Workers Clash Chandrababu Naidu's Party Not To Contest Lok Sabha Elections In Telangana Video: Cop Chased, Punched, Dragged From His Bike By Mob In Telangana 'Entire NEET Paper Solved In 45 Minutes Before Exam?': Top Court To Centre "Had God On My Side": Donald Trump Recounts Being Shot At During Rally 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters "Every Time I Try To Eat Healthy" - Video Creator's Editing Skills Amaze Internet Watch: Comedian's Wholesome Interaction With Indian-Origin Woman Is Viral Donald Trump Accepts Republican Nomination Amid Chants Of USA From Crowd Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.