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TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is said to be having second thoughts on contesting from Mangalagiri Assembly constituency in Guntur district. Sources say that Lokesh had already told the party leadership to find a safe seat for him. He believes that defeat at Mangalagiri for the second time would seal his political future.
The party leadership had studied all 175 constituencies and had come up with four names, which were forwarded to Lokesh. The TDP general secretary is now studying those four seats and is likely to take a call by end of December 2023.
The party sources say that Hindupur, Gudivada, Penamaluru and Vijayawada East Assembly seats were suggested to him, where the Kamma community is strong and has considerable voting power.
Hindupur had been with the TDP for several years. Nandamuri Balakrishna is winning from this seat for the last two terms. The seat had been with the TDP since the inception of the party in 1983. TDP found NTR had won this seat for three subsequent elections in 1985, 1989 and 1994.
Even after NTR left the seat, the TDP won this seat in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. The seat was also represented by Nandamuri Harikrishna in 1996 by-election. Lokesh is now looking at this seat and is likely to hold talks with Balakrishna who is holding it now.
The second seat is Gudivada in Krishna district, which is now held by YSR Congress party’s Kodali Nani, who is holding the seat since 2004. He won the seat twice on the TDP ticket and twice on the YSR Congress ticket. Though the Kamma voters are in large numbers here, it is not easy for the TDP to win this seat by defeating Kodali Nani.
The third seat is Penamaluru constituency, which is now held by YSR Congress nominee K P Saradhi. The seat was formed in 2009 and Saradhi had won the first election in 2009 on Congress ticket. He lost the seat to TDP’s Bode Prasad in 2014 but wrest the seat for the YSR Congress in 2019. Though the Kammas are in large number, victory here for Lokesh is not a cake walk.
The fourth seat was the Vijayawada East Assembly constituency, which is now represented by the TDP’s Gadde Rammohan Rao. The TDP had won the seat for the two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2019. Though Kammas are in strong position here, the seat was earlier held by Praja Rajyam Party in 2009 and there are chances of candidates from other parties winning the seat.
It is now to be seen which seat Lokesh would select from these four. There is also talk that Lokesh is also looking at Ponnuru seat in Guntur district, Mylavaram seat in the NTR district and Nuzvid seat in Eluru district.
