TIRUPATI: Punganur Assembly constituency in Chittoor district is set to witness a triangular contest in the ensuing elections. While the ruling YSRC is determined to retain the seat, the TDP, in alliance with the JSP, has intensified its efforts to bag the key constituency in the district.
On the other hand, Bode Ramachandra Yadav, founder of Bharatha Chaitanya Yatra (BCY) party, has also entered the fray from Punganur. YSRC senior leader and Energy Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, who won thrice from Pileru on Congress ticket, shifted to Punganur in 2009. He won the seat in the 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections.
Punganur has a rich political history. The TDP, which won the seat in 2004, suffered defeat in 2009, 2014 and 2019. However, the TDP had emerged second in the last three elections by securing 70,000 votes consistently. In the last elections also, the TDP candidate got 63,876 votes in the YSRC wave. Ramachandra Yadav, who contested on JSP ticket, polled 16,452 votes.
Despite the YSRC’s dominance, the TDP still has a significant strength in Punganur. Challa Babu, TDP Punganur Assembly constituency incharge, is likely to be the party candidate in the ensuing elections. According to political analysts, Ramachandra Yadav may give a tough fight to the ruling and opposition party candidates. However, the TDP’s alliance with the JSP is likely to be an added advantage to it to give a tough fight to Peddireddy this time. The TDP and the JSP contested the last elections separately and polled 63,876 and 16,452 votes, while Peddireddy got 107,431 votes.
“A consolidation of the TDP and JSP vote bank will certainly contribute to the TDP’s victory in the upcoming polls,” asserted Challa Babu.