GUNTUR : With battle lines drawn for the upcoming elections, a fierce battle is unfolding in Ponnur Assembly constituency between five-time TDP MLA Dhulipalla Narendra and first-time contestant Ambati Murali from YSRC.
Ponnur is one of the seven Assembly segments under Guntur Lok Sabha constituency. Famous for the Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple, Ponnur has three mandals: Pedakakani, Ponnur, and Chebrolu.
The constituency was never a home turf to a single party till 1994. However, with Dhulipalla Narendra winning the segment for five consecutive terms, Ponnur became a TDP stronghold.
After serving the constituency for 25 years, Dhulipalla was defeated by Kilari Rosaiah, son-in-law of veteran leader and MLC Ummareddi Venkateswarulu in 2019 with a slight margin of over 1,000 votes. This came as a huge shock to not just local leaders, but also to the party high command. However, the defeat did not deter the TDP leader as he participated in all party activities and came down strongly on Kilari with corruption allegations. Cases being filed against Sangam Diary, an organisation of which Dhulipalla is the chairman, sparked political heat in Ponnur Assembly constituency.
Meanwhile, the YSRC high command’s decision to field Kilari from Guntur Lok Sabha constituency came as a surprise to party leaders. In his place, the party named another Kapu leader and minister Ambati Rambabu’s relative Ambati Murali. A local businessman and philanthropist, Murali was not active in politics, but gained quite a name for himself with his charity works in the constituency.
With a strategy to gain from his positive image, the YSRC leadership persuaded him to contest in the upcoming elections.