Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and two-term MLC Rudraraju Padma Raju has decided to quit the Congress on January 8 and join the Telugu Desam. Recently, the East Godavari leader was contacted by some TD leaders, including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Mr Padma Raju’s current term as an MLC ends in March this year. He is one of the few Congress leaders picked by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to be part of the team that is involved in key assignments taken up by Mr Gandhi.

However, he was disappointed by the manner in which the Congress acted after the bifurcation of the state.

“Although it was a painful decision, I had to quit Congress primarily because the party was responsible for the mindless bifurcation of the state. Even after that, the AICC leadership did not bother to fight for the injustices done to AP at the Central level,” said Mr Padma Raju.