RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Suspense continues in the TDP-JSP combine over the contestant of Rajamahendravaram Rural Assembly seat in the upcoming elections.
Godavari district JSP president Kandula Durgesh is a strong contender for the ticket. Sitting TDP MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary is also seeking renomination.
Though the Rajamahendravaram Rural seat did not figure in the first list of the TDP-JSP alliance announced on Saturday, Durgesh is said to have been suggested to give way to Butchaiah Chowdary, and contest from Nidadavolu.
However, Durgesh’s followers want him to contest from Rajamahendravaram Rural as the Kapu community is dominant in the constituency. In fact, before the release of the first list, JSP chief Pawan Kalyan himself had announced Durgesh as the party candidate for Rajamahendravaram Rural, but on Sunday, he suggested him otherwise.
“It is not yet finalised as who will be fielded from the rural constituency. I have full faith in my party leadership and they will take a decision that is acceptable to all. I will contest the upcoming elections, but not as an independent,” he said, while urging the party cadre to maintain restraint during a meeting with them in Rajamahendravaram on Sunday.
It may be recalled that Butchaiah Chowdary, a six-time MLA, made it clear to TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu that he would contest either from the rural or the urban segment. It is learnt that in view of Butchaiah Chowdary’s adamant attitude, Rajamahendravaram Rural seat did not figure in the first list of the TDP-JSP combine.
On the other hand, Minister for BC Welfare Chelluboina Srinivasa Venugopalakrishna, YSRC constituency in-charge, has intensified his election campaign in the rural segment.