For the city, often dubbed as the political capital of Andhra Pradesh, the 2014 general elections will be quite an interesting one as young politicians from two dominant communities are sweating it out to carve a niche for themselves.
One has already tasted success in politics by becoming an MLA, while the other is working to make it to the Parliament. This is the story of YSRC nominee Vangveeti Radhakrishna (36) and his Congress counterpart Devineni Avinash (26), who are all set to contest in the coming polls with diverse ideologies. Families of these young leaders had always dominated the Andhra Pradesh politics at all levels.
Rise and fallThe YSRC Vijayawada (East) candidate, Mr. Radhakrishna, joined the politics at a crucial juncture after the brutal murder of his father Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga Rao, who had carved his niche in the political arena and emerged as a strong Kapu leader. Unstinted support of his community and goodwill of his father made Mr. Radhakrishna a Congress MLA. But, defection to the erstwhile PRP and coterie politics had distanced himself from his father’s die-hard followers, bringing a defeat for him in 2009 polls.
However, he had made a stride to return to his father’s followers and inception of the YSRC gave an opportunity to re-establish his lost rapport with the mass. “This is a crucial election for him (Mr. Radhakrishna) as his future depends on it,” say political analysts. Interestingly, Mr. Radhakrishna is contesting from the Vijayawada East constituency which is considered as the bastion of Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru), his father’s bete noire.
Carrying the legacyThe story of Mr. Avinash is strikingly different for he is taking over the mantle from his aging father Mr. Nehru, who had literally dictated the city politics for decades. The Samaikyandhra agitation came as a shot in Mr. Avinash’s arm to win the hearts of many, especially the students, with his strong views against the State bifurcation. The leadership vacuum in the city Congress cadre also gave him a fair chance to enter politics. “There is an anti-Congress wave. But in politics, one never knows what is in store,” say the analysts.
Political pundits are of the view that the duo cannot be considered as the arch rivals as neither are they scheming for each other’s fall nor involved in faction feud as their fathers did in the 70s and 80s.
