As the final picture has emerged on the candidates in the fray with the phase of withdrawals coming to an end on Wednesday, the rebel menace continues to haunt the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in West Godavari district, while the YSR Congress feels relieved.
The rebels are likely to upset the TDP’s applecart in three Assembly segments—Tadepalligudem, Palacol and Kovvuru. The YSRC, however, managed to overcome the problem with its rebel candidates having withdrawn their nominations in three Assembly segments—Denduluru (P.V. Rao), Palacol (Gunnam Nagababu), and Achanta (Kandiboyina Srinivasa Rao).
Now, the YSRC can improve its winning chances in these Assembly segments by ensuring a straight fight with the Telugu Desam. Former MLA and medical practitioner T. Satyanarayana (Babji) remains in the fray as a rebel candidate from the TDP, giving anxious moments to the official nominee.
The BJP candidate from Tadepalligudem, Pidikondala Manikyala Rao, who was given a ticket from this segment as part of the seat sharing with the TDP, finds the going tough as he faces a rebel, Kottu Satyanarayana, former MLA, from his ally.
In Kovvuru (SC reserved) too, the TDP rebel and sitting MLA T.V. Rama Rao is expected to mar the winning chances of its official candidate. The mission undertaken by the TDP State observer Garikapati Ramamohan Rao to pacify the rebels yielded little results in West Godavari district.
