Daggubati Purandeswari has almost made it as the BJP’s candidate for Vijayawada Lok Sabha (LS) seat dashing the hopes of former minister Yerneni Sitadevi who migrated from TDP recently and appeared to be frontrunner till a few days ago.
True to her conduct and influence, Ms. Purandeswari’s name figured as the candidate for Vijayawada LS constituency in the list of probable candidates, which included Ms. Sitadevi also.
Surprisingly, Ms. Purandeswari has also been named from Visakhapatnam to the discomfiture of party’s State (Seemandhra) president K. Haribabu who staked his claim from the port city. Ruling out his candidature in Visakhapatnam is unlikely given his clean track record and long stint in the party. He was elected MLA from Visakhapatnam-I in 1999 from BJP and is currently a member of the party’s national disciplinary committee.
It is therefore understandable that Ms. Sitadevi will have to make way for Ms. Purandeswari in Vijayawada. Ms. Sitadevi hoped to stage a comeback as a Member of Parliament. She was in TDP earlier, elected as MLA from Mudinepalli in 1994.
In the final analysis, finalising candidates for Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam seats is going to be a litmus test for the party leadership and for both Ms. Purandeswari and Mr. Haribabu. The 2014 elections will either make or mar their future prospects.
The party’s list of aspirants for LS seats in Seemandhra has 43 names for 23 constituencies and time is very short for the party to complete the balancing act of rejecting candidature of several aspirants and still keep them in good humour.
Of the 23 seats for the list has been prepared, Amalapuram (SC), Anakapalli, Guntur, Hindupur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Narsaraopet, Ongole, Rajampet, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam have at least two contenders each and in Anantapur, Kakinada, Narasapuram and Tirupati, three candidates are vying for the tickets.
