It is election time again in the urban constituency of Tirupati, with the Election Commission making the announcement on Monday evening to hold by-election in Tirupati next month.
The election is caused by the untimely demise of the TDP legislator M. Venkatramana, who wrested the 2014 general elections from the YSRC’s Bhumana Karunakar Reddy with a thumping majority of 40,000 votes. Coming as it does in the backdrop of bifurcation and formation of the TDP government, the by-election has generated interest neither among political leaders nor voters.
It was only in 2012 that a by-election was held here, following the resignation of then Legislator K. Chiranjeevi, when he was picked up for the Rajya Sabha seat in return for the merger of his Praja Rajyam Party into the Congress.
Rather intriguingly, Mr. Ramana, then a Congress candidate, was defeated by the same Karunakar Reddy in the triangular contest, while the TDP candidate Chadalawada Krishnamurthy came a distant third.
The previous by-election was in 1983 when TDP founder Late N.T. Rama Rao relinquished the Tirupati seat to retain Gudivada.
There is not much hype in the TDP, with indications that the leadership had almost plumped for Mr. Ramana’s widow M. Sugunamma as the candidate. As the TDP extended cooperation in getting Bhuma Akhila Priya elected unanimously in Allagadda after the demise of her mother and senior YSRC leader Shoba Nagi Reddy in a road mishap, the party is expecting the YSRC to return the favour now.
With neither party ready to go for the hustings, the process is all set to go on expected lines.
Election Commission decides to hold by-poll in February
