Even as the general elections are fast approaching, it is interesting to note that both the ruling Telugu Desam Party and the Opposition YSR Congress Party are facing difficulties in finding candidates for Parliamentary seats in East Godavari district.
Contrary to the demand for the Assembly seats, for which at least two to three candidates each are vying with one another from both parties, there are hardly any takers for Parliament seats and all the three sitting MPs preferred not to contest the Parliament seats again for different reasons.
From the quantum of election expenditure and the energies required to coordinate with the leaders of several rungs to representing a ‘small’ State in Parliament following the division of the State seemed to be the factors deterring the aspirants from contesting the MP seats. The senior leaders are with the hope of getting elected to the Assembly and getting a berth in the Cabinet. Even if they elected to Parliament, the scope of getting a berth in Union Ministry is comparatively low in the current political environment.
Amalapuram, Rajamahendravaram and Kakinada are the three Parliament segments from East Godavari district, in which sitting MP from Amalapuram Pandula Ravindra Babu shifted his loyalties to the YSR Congress Party recently and planning to contest from an Assembly segment. Pinipe Viswaroop of the YSRCP, who lost the Amalapuram seat to Dr. Ravindra Babu during the last election, too is keen on contesting the Assembly seat, but not to Parliament. Though the ruling TDP is planning to filed Ganti Harish Mathur, son of late G.M.C. Balayogi from this seat, there is no reciprocation from the Balayogi’s family for the proposal so far.
Sitting MP from Kakinada Parliamentary constituency Thota Narasimham recently announced that he was not going to contest the elections, as his health condition was not good. He, however, was planning to field his wife Vani from Jaggampeta Assembly segment, but not from the Parliamentary constituency represented by him.
Chalamalasetti Sunil, who contested on the YSRCP ticket and lost the seat to Mr. Narasimham last time, has now shifted his loyalties to the TDP and is going to contest the seat on the TDP ticket this time in all likelihood. The YSRCP, however, is yet to find its candidate for the seat.
Murali Mohan says ‘no’
Sitting MP from Rajamahendravaram M. Murali Mohan too announced that he was not ready to contest the election again, as he was planning to shift his focus towards undertaking welfare programmes through his family-owned NGO. The YSRCP has found Margani Bharat Ram, an actor-turned-politician, to contest the seat, but the TDP is still in search of the right candidate.
Senior TDP leader Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao’s son Venkataramana Murthy contested the seat on the YSRCP ticket during the last election and lost to Mr. Murali Mohan. Now, the TDP has offered the MP ticket to Mr. Bhaskara Rama Rao, but he refused to contest.
“I am keen on contesting from Peddapuram Assembly constituency. I can’t say whether it is from the TDP ticket or not at this moment,” he has said on record. The situation is more or less the same in Araku Parliamentary constituency.
