Till last week, YSR Congress Party remained confident of retaining all the seats in the SPSR Nellore district. But now the party is in a tight spot after the party’s strongman Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy (VPR) decided to walk out of the party, when the general elections are just around the corner.
The combined Nellore district always remained a Congress bastion in the past and the YSR Congress Party’s citadel after its formation, where it won all the 10 Assembly constituencies in the 2019 elections.
The party was all set to give a tight fight this time too when VPR, who was set to jump into the ring as the Nellore Lok Sabha candidate, went out of the party radar, reportedly miffed at the manner the high command had taken several key decisions pertaining to his constituency without his knowledge.
Firstly, the party reportedly paid no heed to his request to change the nominees for three Assembly constituencies coming under his Lok Sabha seat. Later, the name of Mohammad Khaleel Ahmed, known as a close confidant of former Minister and sitting MLA Anil Kumar Yadav, was announced for Nellore city constituency. As Mr. Yadav is set to fight the Narasaraopet Lok Sabha seat as directed by the party, it is widely perceived that he is keeping his ‘yes man’ in the constituency.
In view of the running feud between VPR and Yadav factions, the former reportedly got further angered and went into exile. Though he was in New Delhi for the parliamentary sessions, he had not meet Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during his visit.
The Rajya Sabha member was actually averse to be pitted for the Nellore Lok Sabha seat. “He is basically a businessman and as such, staying in touch with the grassroots public has never been his cup of tea,” a senior YSRCP leader told The Hindu requesting anonymity.
Sources close to VPR confirmed that he was contemplating various options, including getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha once again, either from the BJP or the TDP. VPR’s wife and TTD advisory committee chairperson Vemireddy Prashanti said the family had not taken ‘any decision yet’ on this aspect.
The party candidates are worried at the unexpected absence of the ‘deep-pocketed’ leader and influencer, while the cadre is keeping its fingers crossed on the possible outcomes.
