Political equations change in Guntur

GUNTUR: The suspension of rebel YSRC MLA Undavalli Sridevi and the entry of former State BJP chief Kanna Lakshminarayana into Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have changed political dynamics in Guntur district once again. Both the ruling YSRC and the opposition TDP are evolving their own political strategies to win in the next Assembly elections.

Sridevi faced serious dissent from the YSRC cadre since she became an MLA. Some party workers even demanded that Sridevi resign alleging that she was not showing any interest in the development of the region, besides ignoring the party cadres.

The appointment of MLC Dokka Manikya Varaprasad as an additional coordinator of  Tadikonda and later the party incharge, had added fuel to the fire. It is speculated that Dokka will contest from Tadikonda in the next elections in place of Sridevi. Despite Kanna’s entry into TDP, the YSRC is confident that it may not hamper its prospects in the next elections as the Opposition party has lacked strong leadership and cadre at the ground level.  

Commenting on Kanna’s entry into TDP, Dokka said it shows how desperate he was to protect his political identity as the former minister severely criticised TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu when he was in Congress and later in BJP.

TDP senior leader Alapati Rajendra Prasad had a political feud with Kanna and it was a known fact that he was against Kanna joining TDP, a YSRC leader said.“Kanna joining TDP is a positive thing and it shows that senior political leaders are aware of the wrongdoings of the YSRC government and are ready to fight against it, which gives new hope to the people,” opined TDP senior leader Dhulipalla Narendra.

Speaking to TNIE, Dhulipalla said, “The people are vexed with the YSRC government. And this negativity against the JS Jagan Mohan Reddy government will certainly help us to win in the next general elections, for which the people of the State are eagerly waiting.”

Stating that the suspension of the four rebel YSRC MLAs was just a show to hide its defeat, he said even after using all its resources and public institutions at its disposal, the ruling YSRC had tasted defeat in the MLC elections. “Blaming a woman MLA for this is ridiculous and an example that Jagan has lost his credibility as a leader,” he observed.

Asserting that people are not at all happy with the YSRC government, Dhulipalla said there is no truth in the YSRC’s claim that its welfare schemes are reaching every household and exuded confidence that the party will return to power in 2024.