SRIKAKULAM/VIZIANAGARAM : The presence of YSRC rebel Suvvari Gandhi may affect the winning prospects of Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram in Amadalavalasa segment of Srikakulam district.
At the same time, TDP rebel Meesala Geetha, who is in the fray in Vizianagaram, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Deputy Assembly Speaker Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy. As counting day on June 4 draws closer, Tammineni and Kolagatla are surviving anxious moments, not knowing what the verdict will be.
The YSRC fielded Tammineni from Amadalavalasa, hoping that Jagan Mohan Reddy’s welfare schemes would help him through in the election. But Gandhi entered the fray like the proverbial black swan, upsetting Tammineni’s apple cart.
Gandhi is a senior leader in Ponduru mandal. He fought against the previous TDP government for social security pension to the eligible poor. He won the case in the High Court, and got social security pensions sanctioned for at least 100 people with interest for five years. He played a key role in Tammineni’s win in the 2019 elections. However, he allegedly neglected Gandhi after the YSRC came into power. Cut to the quick, Gandhi remained as a rebel with the sole intention of demonstrating his power of spoiling Tammineni’s prospects.
Tammineni won the seat with 13,911 votes majority over TDP candidate Kuna Ravi Kumar in 2019. In the just concluded election, Tammineni faced dissidence from people of the constituency as he failed to fulfil several election promises, including the revival of the Amadalavalasa cooperative sugar factory, modernisation of Narayanapuram anicut, construction of Balasala Revu bridge across the river Nagavali and Amadalavalasa-Srikakulam road. Besides the odds that were stacking up against Tammineni, Gandhi also decided to hit him below the belt by staying in the fray as a rebel.
While this is so, in Vizianagaram, the situation is entirely different. Kolagatla has a blessing in disguise from Geetha, who is in the fray after she was denied TDP ticket.
The TDP allotted the ticket to Pusapati Aditi Vijayalakshmi Gajapathi Raju, which ruffled Geetha. The party could not pacify her and as a result she had decided to contest as an independent. As she hails from the powerful Kapu community, it is expected that she may cut into TDP votes, thus helping Kolagatla win the election.
Interestingly, the returning officer allotted the ‘Glass Tumbler’ symbol to Geetha though she does not represent the Jana Sena Party, which may help her nibble at JSP votes too. In 2009, she lost from Vizianagaram Assembly constituency on Praja Rayam ticket. However, in 2014, she won from the constituency on TDP ticket. Come 2019, she found herself left high and dry by the TDP. Kolagatla won the seat with 6,417 votes majority over TDP candidate Aditi in 2019. He is now hoping to win the seat again as he expects TDP rebel Geetha’s presence in the fray would help him.
Kolagatla sits pretty in Vizianagaram segment
TDP rebel Meesala Geetha, who is in the fray in Vizianagaram, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Deputy Assembly Speaker Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy. Interestingly, the returning officer allotted the ‘Glass Tumbler’ symbol to Geetha though she does not represent the Jana Sena, which may help her nibble at JSP votes too.