Hyderabad: Two days after joining Congress, N Ramamurthy Naidu, the estranged younger brother of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, today (Dec 10, 2003) vowed to contest against his brother in the coming snap polls and to expose the "anti- people policies" of the TDP Government.

"I will strive for the victory of Congress and prove how people are thoroughly disillusioned with the present Government," the junior Naidu told reporters after arriving in Hyderabad from Delhi to a rousing welcome from Congress workers.

Capping a prolonged sibling rivalry, Ramamurthy had joined Congress on Monday (Dec 8) in the presence of party president Sonia Gandhi.

Predicting a resounding victory for Congress in the coming Assembly elections, he said he would embark on an extensive tour of the State to highlight the "misdeeds and corrupt practices" of the TDP Government.

Ever since the TDP leadership cold-shouldered him following his defeat in the 1999 Assembly polls, Ramamurthy was nursing a strained leadership with his elder brother.

The recent political developments in the wake of premature dissolution of Assembly saw him gravitate towards Congress.

Senior Congress leaders, including the Legislature wing leader Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and former Chief Minister N Janardhan Reddy, welcomed him at the Begumpet airport. Later, he proceeded to "Gandhi Bhavan", the State party headquarters, in a procession.

After formally enrolling himself as a Congress member, the junior Naidu took potshots at his elder brother and predicted a rout for TDP at the hustings.

PTI