NELLORE: Yuva Galam Padayatra of TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is expected to change the dynamics of Nellore politics. The TDP rank and file is hopeful that the padayatra will enable the party regain its lost glory in Nellore district by winning the maximum number of Assembly seats in the ensuing elections.
Three suspended YSRC MLAs have extended their support to Lokesh and started making all-out efforts to ensure the success of Yuva Galam Padayatra in their respective constituencies.Anam Ramanarayana Reddy (Venkatagiri), Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy (Nellore Rural) and Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy (Udayagiri) are ready to shift their loyalties to the TDP.
In the 2019 elections, the YSRC made a clean sweep by winning all the 10 Assembly seats in the erstwhile undivided Nellore district and also bagged Nellore and Tirupati Lok Sabha constituencies.
During the Cabinet rejig, P Anil Kumar Yadav was dropped. After that, internal bickerings in the YSRC district unit came to the fore. Though the YSRC leadership could manage to calm down the dissidence by convincing the leaders, it is likely to impact the prospects of the ruling party in the next Assembly elections.
It is a fact that the Reddy community is dominant in the district politics for more than two decades. Incidentally, the three suspended rebel legislators are from the Reddy community.
Though the TDP has a strong base in Nellore rural constituency, it is not easy for Sridhar Reddy, who is likely to contest the next election on Telugu Desam ticket, to win the Assembly seat as the rebel YSRC MLA is facing opposition from some TDP leaders. Sridhar Reddy needs to win the confidence of TDP leaders and cadre to win the election, opined a political analyst.
Both Anam and Mekapati have already announced their decisions to shift their loyalties to TDP.Anam is reportedly preparing the ground to contest the next election from Atmakur Assembly constituency, from where he was elected in 2009.Mekapati has vowed to strive to strengthen the TDP in the district without aspiring for the TDP ticket.
Nara Lokesh’s yatra enters Nellore dist
Nara Lokesh’s Yuva Galam Padayatra concluded in Rayalaseema and entered Nellore district on Tuesday. Throwing an open challenge to 49 MLAs and eight MPs of YSRC from Rayalaseema that he is ready for a debate to prove that they have done absolutely nothing for the development of the drought-prone region, Lokesh said, “I can prove that the region has achieved more development during the previous TDP regime.” “I never forget the love and affection shown by the people of Rayalaseema during my 124-day padayatra. As the son of the soil I have decided to put an end to the migrations from this region, besides ensuring the economic welfare of farmers by completing all the pending irrigation projects on a priority basis, if TDP returns to power in the next elections.”