The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) cadres are in an upbeat mood in the western mandals of the district with the entry of former Tamballapalle MLA Kalicharla Prabhakar Reddy into the party on Tuesday.
Prabhakar Reddy scored a hat-trick as MLA of Tamballapalle constituency, initially as independent, and as Congress candidate in 1999 and 2004. Hailing from Peddamandyam mandal, Mr. Reddy has a strong following not only in Tamballapalle, but also in Madanapalle and Piler constituencies. In 2009, he joined the Praja Rajyam, but was defeated by the TDP candidate, though he scored over 35,000 votes.
Later, Mr. Prabhakar Reddy joined the YSR Congress, but remained aloof from party activities after party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy reportedly denied him the MLA ticket in 2014. After the entry of former TDP MLA A.V. Praveen Kumar Reddy into the YSRC, he went back to Congress, only to join the Telugu Desam Party now. Mr. Reddy was said to have obtained assurance of the ZP chairperson post for his wife Indiramma. On assurance from Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr. Reddy has patched up his differences with G. Shankar, the present TDP candidate for Tamballapalla constituency.
The TDP district president Jangalapalle Srinivasulu told The Hindu that Kalicharla’s entry will strengthen the party all over western mandals, and this would ensure the victory of the TDP in Tamballapalle, Madanapalle and Piler constituencies.
