VIJAYAWADA: With the ruling YSRC’s assertion that it will win all the 175 Assembly seats in the State in 2024 going by its splendid performance in the local bodies elections, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has constituted a new coordination committee with an aim to retain his Kuppam constituency with a majority of not less than one lakh votes.
The committee is headed by Kancharla Srikanth, who recently won as an MLC from the East Rayalaseema graduates constituency. The committee comprises the Kuppam constituency in-charge PS Muniratnam, R Chandrasekhar, convenor, and 31 members. A core committee has also been formed to strengthen the TDP in Kuppam, which has been represented by Naidu since 1989. He got elected as an MLA from Kuppam for seven consecutive times. However, in the 2019 elections, there was a dip in his majority.
With the TDP losing power in the State in the 2019 elections, the YSRC leadership has focused on the Kuppam constituency with the ultimate goal of defeating Naidu in the next elections. Following the victory of YSRC in the local body elections, including in Kuppam municipality, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has come up with a new slogan ‘Why not 175’. He is of the view that wresting Kuppam from the TDP is not at all a tough task.
However, the TDP leadership has put a brave face claiming that the people of Kuppam will always stand by Naidu. Elections to the State Assembly are different from the local bodies polls, which are generally dominated by the ruling party in the State. Hence, the outcome of Assembly elections cannot be ascertained based on the results of local bodies elections, it contended. The new committee has been set up to ensure the victory of Naidu in the 2024 elections.