GUNTUR: An interesting political development has unfolded in Bapatla Lok Sabha constituency as the TDP has fielded former Telangana BJP spokesperson as its contestant in the elections.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu released the party’s third list of candidates on March 22, naming 13 Lok Sabha and 11 Assembly candidates. Former DGP T Krishna Prasad, who aspired for BJP ticket from Hyderabad in the Telangana Assembly elections, was named as the TDP candidate for Bapatla Lok Sabha seat contrary to the expectation that Malyadi Sriram would be the nominee.
Bapatla (SC reserved) Lok Sabha constituency has never been a bastion of any party as the Congress won it six times and the TDP five times since its inception in 1977. After suffering defeat in 2014, to everyone’s surprise the YSRC fielded Nandigam Suresh, a close confidant to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, as the candidate from Bapatla and he won with a huge majority against two-time MP and TDP senior leader Malyadi Sriram.
As the both parties are determined to win the Lok Sabha seat in the elections, the YSRC renominated Suresh for Bapatla, who has intensified his election campaign in the seven Assembly segments of the constituency.
YSRC activists have started highlighting the fact that Krishna Prasad is a non-local to garner people’s support.
Meanwhile, the TDP is readying its cadre at the grassroots level to reach out to the people. Krishna Prasad should be able to get along with local TDP cadre, besides gaining the confidence of people, to win against sitting YSRC MP Suresh, opined a political analyst.