YSR Congress Party spokesperson and senior leader Ambati Rambabu received a severe jolt as a section of local leaders revolted against him and asked the party high command to change his candidature.
Mr. Rambabu, a loyalist of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, served as chairman of the APIIC during the Congress regime and was one of the earliest leaders to side with Jagan Mohan Reddy after the latter left the Congress.
In 2014, Ambati was fielded against Kodela Siva Prasada Rao from Sattenapalli and he lost the election by a narrow margin of 700 votes.
Days later, Ambati watched helplessly as party MPTC members headed to Muppala to vote were forcibly taken away near Medikonduru. In the last four years, Mr. Rambabu has been waging a lone battle against the powerful TDP leaders.
Local leaders of the party felt that Mr. Rambabu could not stand in the face of relentless pressure of TDP leaders and they have been seeking a candidate from Reddy community.
Yerram Venkateswara Reddy, a former Congress two-time MLA, has not made up his mind to join any party and is one of the probable candidates, though he is also being wooed by the TDP.
Active participation
Mr. Rambabu, on the other hand, insisted that he had been nurturing the constituency for the last 10 years. After opening his office, he had been visiting the constituency daily and had supported the party men in times of hardship, he said. In spite of the high-handedness of the official machinery, he had fought for the interests of the party men, he added.
