RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Several Telugu Desam leaders, including some sitting MLAs, may have to sacrifice the seat they are aspiring to contest in the undivided East and West Godavari districts following an electoral alliance between the TDP and the Jana Sena Party to defeat the YSRC.
The JSP has a strong base in the twin Godavari districts. The Kapu community, which is a dominant force, plays a key role in determining the fate of contestants in more than 20 Assembly segments in the Godavari districts. The two districts account for 34 of the total 175 Assembly seats in the State. The total number of seats in East Godavari is 19, while West Godavari has 15 seats. Speaking to TNIE, Mandapeta TDP MLA Vegulla Jogeswara Rao welcomed the JSP-TDP alliance.
Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan announced to contest the ensuing elections in alliance with the TDP after meeting Telugu Desam supremo N Chandrababu Naidu in Rajamahendravaram Central Prison following the latter’s arrest in the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) case. “The major challenge before the TDP-JSP alliance is to defeat the YSRC in the ensuing elections. We have to make sacrifices to realise our objective. I am ready to sacrifice my seat if TDP supremo Naidu directs me to do so,’’ he asserted.
Actually, a majority of Assembly seats in Godavari districts are TDP strongholds. As per the alliance, the JSP is likely to get 12 to 14 seats out of the total 34. In the last elections, the TDP won six seats out of the total 34. Senior JSP leader and East Godavari district president Kandula Durgesh said, “The Jana Sena leadership is likely to seek 70 Assembly seats in North Coastal Andhra, Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts as part of the alliance with the TDP as the party is strong in the coastal belt.”
“We have identified Pithapuram, Kakinada Rural, Kakinada City, Amalapuram, Razole, Mummidivaram, Kothapeta, Rajamahendravaram Rural and Rajanagaram in East Godavari, Tadepalligudem, Tanuku, Bhimavaram, Narasapuram, Unguturu and Eluru in West Godavari to contest in 2024 as part of the alliance with the TDP. A final decision in this regard will be taken by our party chief Pawan Kalyan soon. We are ready for talks with the TDP on seat sharing,’’ Durgesh told TNIE.