VISAKHAPATNAM: With both the ruling YSRC and Opposition TDP announcing their candidates for the Gajuwaka Assembly constituencies, the battle lines have been drawn.
While YSRC has decided to field IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath by putting an end to speculation over his candidature, TDP has chosen Palla Srinivasa Rao.
Gajuwaka comprises the industrial belt, including the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. It is one of the crucial constituencies as Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan had unsuccessfully contested from the segment against YSRC’s Tippala Nagireddy. The actor-politician lost the seat owing to a multi-cornered contest. TDP and Jana Sena, who contested separately, polled almost 58% of votes put together.
Earlier, it was speculated that the YSRC would choose corporator Urukuti Ramachandra Rao instead of sitting MLA Tippala Nagireddy.
Reportedly unhappy with the decision, Nagi Reddy’s supporters held separate meetings with party leaders in an open defiance. Ramachandra Rao also conducted parallel meetings with his followers in the constituency.
In a bid to manage the dissidence, the YSRC leadership unsuccessfully tried to pacify the warring factions. At first, the name of Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari, who belongs to the same community as Ramachandra Rao, began doing the rounds.
However, in a swift development, the party chose Amarnath, a close aide of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, hoping that the internal strife in the party would subside.
Now, Amarnath has been coordinating with all YSRC leaders in the constituency to get them on board with the decision.
Meanwhile, Jana Sena leaders from the Gajuwaka division, who had adopted a unanimous resolution, urging Pawan to contest from the constituency, asserted that they are ready for battle. The choice of Palla Srinivasa Rao has been unanimous in TDP. He got 28.42% votes in Gajuwaka in 2019, a little less than Pawan who received 29.37% of votes. Rao opined that the TDP was sitting pretty particularly after joining hands with the JSP and BJP.