VIJAYAWADA: The ruling YSRC, which has targeted the Assembly seats won by TDP bigwigs as part of its ‘Mission 175’, has now focused on Hindupur represented by actor-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna.
With the internal rift between two of its senior leaders in the constituency hampering its prospects in the past two elections, the party has appointed a new charge for the constituency. It has decided to pitch a new face, Deepika Venugopal Reddy, to take on Balakrishna.
Retired IPS officer and MLC Shaik Mohammad Iqbal and AP Agros Chairman B Naveen Nischal have been at loggerheads with each other over supremacy in the constituency. Both had contested against Balakrishna unsuccessfully in the past two elections.
The YSRC has been making efforts to make inroads into TDP bastions like Kuppam represented by the party supremo and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Tekkali of TDP AP unit chief K Atchannaidu and other seats. Hindupur is a traditional stronghold of the TDP. The party founder, NT Rama Rao, wrested the seat from the Congress in 1983 and since then, TDP has been winning it. NT Rama Rao’s son Nandamuri Harikrishna also won from the segment. Balakrishna won the seat in 2014 and 2019. The TDP won just three out of the more than 50 Assembly seats in the entire Rayalaseema region and Hindupur is among them.
The YSRC now wants to break into the TDP citadel. With its two senior leaders Iqbal and Naveen not mending ways and continuing to play group politics, the party leadership had made several attempts to patch up the differences between the two. YSRC regional coordinator Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, too, tried to pacify the duo but in vain.
Naveen is unhappy with Iqbal’s involvement in the politics of Hindupur considering his non-local stand. Iqbal, on the other hand, claims that he has the support of the people.
With this, the top brass has decided to bring a new face into the picture and for this, they have narrowed down on Deepika, who hails from the Kuruba community, which is a dominant force in Anantapur as well as Hindupur, while her husband Venugopal Reddy can attract the Reddy votes, party sources felt.
The party leadership had reportedly made its intentions clear on removing Iqbal as in charge of Hindupur. The MLC had distanced himself even from the meeting organised by Ramachandra Reddy. After Deepika was made in charge, Iqbal released a video statement stating that he is moving to Hyderabad on personal grounds.
“I have been striving for the people of this area for the past four years. Though I am moving to Hyderabad on personal grounds, it does not mean I am leaving the people of Hindupur forever,’’ he asserted.