The withdrawal of nomination by Kalyanadurgam Congress candidate Devendrappa might well turn out to be a ploy by APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy to help YSRC Anantapur MP candidate Ananta Venkatrami Reddy to keep at bay the common adversary.
It’s a known fact in the Anantapur politics that Mr. Raghuveera Reddy and former minister and TDP MP candidate for the Anantapur parliamentary constituency J.C. Diwakar Reddy do not see eye to eye for many a reason.
On the other hand, the gulf between Mr. Venkatrami Reddy and Mr. Diwakar Reddy, who were not only in the same party till recently -- Congress -- but also close relatives, has widened.
“Mr. Raghuveera Reddy has ensured that the selected candidate was driven out of the party by not supporting him, while the YSRC lured him. It’s all an effort to ensure that Mr. Diwakar Reddy would not win the election,” said a senior Congress leader of the district seeking anonymity.
While Mr. Venkatrami Reddy leads the contest against Mr. Diwakar Reddy, the TDP hopes to win the seat by getting a good majority in Tadipatri and Kalyandurgam constituencies.
TDP strongholdWhile the Tadipatri constituency is the home turf of Mr. Diwakar Reddy from where he did not lose in the last four attempts, the Kalyandurgam constituency is a stronghold of TDP and its candidate Vunnam Hanumantharaya Chowdary is expected to win
“In fact, the change of loyalties by Mr. Venkatrami Reddy came soon after Mr. Diwakar Reddy decided to shift to the TDP which indicates that containing Mr. Diwakar Reddy is the primary aim for he could be dangerous if in power to the political future of both Venkatrami Reddy and Raghuveera Reddy,” said the Congress leader while speaking to The Hindu.
