Andhra Pradesh:Political scene hots up in Anantapur

The political scene in Anantapur has hotted up ever since Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar disqualified the Congress MLAs who voted against the party whip, in support of no confidence motion in the Assembly.

On the other hand, the Congress finds itself almost bereft of any candidate worth its name to wage a successful contest in view of the cadre largely remaining undecided still over where their loyalties lie - with the YSR Congress or the Congress party.

The Congress has been out of the political scenario in Anantapur town, with most of its leaders not garnering much news about any special interest that they have shown in the development of the town, except for the fact that Anantapur MP's largesse in allotting Rs. 1 crore from his MPLADS for the development of the medical infrastructure in Anantapur Government Hospital.

Consequently, Anantapur and Rayadurg Assembly segments have fallen vacant with both the MLAs - Gurunath Reddy of Anantapur and Kapu Ramachandra Reddy of Rayadurg - coming out openly in support of the YSR Congress Party.

With an announcement for election being expected by the end of April, as per media reports, the political parties are gearing up to meet the challenge. The Telugu Desam Party has a definitive edge in terms of their preparation for an expected by-poll having a motivated cadre and two candidates in the fray with experience of having contested elections in former Municipal Chairman Prabhakar Chowdhary and the contestant from the last Assembly elections Mahalakshmi Srinivas.

 

Nevertheless, it also finds itself in for a good amount of infighting given the hopes of a party ticket in the by-poll.Confused cadre

He consequently finds himself to be the safe bet for the Congress in the current circumstances, although grapevine says he might not be interested in contesting, given the disarray in the cadre. The Congress will have their task cut out if it is to give a good fight, primarily because it stands to lose a good share of its traditional vote bank to the YSR Congress, which seems well placed.

Nevertheless, the candidate for the YSR Congress B. Gurunath Reddy and his family find themselves entangled in controversies. But, the latent support enjoyed by the party amongst the people continues to be their hope.