The ruling TDP, which had suffered a rout in the western constituencies of the district, is leaving no stone unturned to bounce back and be a force to reckon with.
At present, the Assembly constituencies of Chandragiri, Piler, Madanapalle and Punganur are being represented by the YSR Congress Party MLAs.
Palamaner MLA N. Amaranatha Reddy, who had won on the YSRCP ticket, later joined the TDP, and now holds the Industries portfolio in the State Cabinet.
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Nallari factor
The joining of Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy, brother of former Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, is a shot in the arm for the ruling party in Piler. However, the TDP is likely to face dissent from senior leaders and cadre.
A senior leader from Piler, who recently rejoined the TDP, is likely to cross over to the YSRCP when its president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy enters the district as part of his Praja Sankalpa Yatra later this month. The supporters of TDP Piler in charge Iqbal Ahmed, who had lost to the YSRCP in the 2014 elections, are said to be unhappy with the joining of Mr. KishoreKumar into the party.
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In Madanapalle, YSRCP MLA Desai Tippa Reddy is considered non-controversial as he keeps himself accessible to the general public. In this constituency, the TDP has over half-a-dozen aspirants, and the alliance with the BJP adds to the confusion. In 2014, the Madanapalle ticket went to the BJP. Later, there were allegations that the TDP cadres had stayed away from electioneering.
The Palamaner constituency is still considered the stronghold of Punganur MLA and YSRCP general secretary Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy.
There is an undisputed version in the YSRCP and the TDP that it is the influence of Mr. Ramachandra Reddy that had helped the YSRCP hoist its flag in the TDP bastion.
Though Mr. Amaranatha Reddy became a Minister, he is said to have lost the game as he could not bring the party cadres along with him.
In Tamballapalle
Though Tamballapalle is in the TDP’s kitty and is represented by MLA G. Shankar, differences among senior leaders is gradually getting louder. With Praveen Kumar Reddy, the former TDP MLA who had joined the YSRCP before the 2014 elections and later lost to the TDP, staying away, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy made his brother Dwarakanatha Reddy as YSRCP in charge of the constituency. Mr. Dwarakanatha Reddy has already completed door-to-door campaign in all the villages. He is said to have mobilised enough support for himself and created negative impact on the TDP leaders in the constituency.
In order to turn the tide in its favour and effectively stem the lingering support to the YSRCP in the western constituencies, the TDP leadership in the district has embarked on a special mission.
TDP district president P. Nani says grassroots level meetings will be organised at the village and mandal levels to elicit the opinion of the cadres and chalk out the course of action.