By-election fever grips Guntur

With by elections for the two Assembly constituencies of Prathipadu and Macherla likely to be held by the end of May, the district is being gripped by election fever.

The polls in these constituencies have been necessitated by the disqualification of two pro Jagan MLAs, Mekathoti Sucharita (Prathipadu reserved) and Pinneli Ramakrishna Reddy (Macherla) after they defied the party whip while voting for the no-confidence motion.

Though the two MLAs seemed to enjoy an advantage when compared to a divided Congress and an ambivalent Telugu Desam, the elections are no means a cakewalk for the two parties. The mood in pro-Jagan camp is upbeat after a near tumultuous response to the last leg of Jagan's Odarpu yatra which ended last week in Guntur. Jagan is expected to resume his election campaign in Macherla on April 17.

In Macherla, the TDP is toying with the idea of fielding a candidate from either Reddy or Kamma communities, though party sources hinted that the party might opt for a Kamma candidate. A final decision is likely to be made in three to four days.

Post-delimitation, the constituency has undergone a vast change with the inclusion of parts of Guntur Rural and Kakumanu, culled out from Ponnur.

The constituency has a sizeable vote bank of about 60,000 kamma votes in Kakumanu, Pedanandipadu, Vatticherukuru and Prathipadu mandals, which the TDP is keen on pocketing. Apart from a strong Dalit vote bank, there is a fair mix of kapu, BC and Muslim votes.

The Congress on the other hand is still undecided on the candidates. Pinneli laxma Reddy, former MLA might be pitted against his nephew Pinneli Ramakrishna Reddy.

Former Inspector General of Police, Intelligence V. Narsaiah, who was close to NTR, is keen on contesting though sources said that his son, Madhu, might get the nod.

In Prathipadu, the TDP has sounded the election bugle early by naming Kandula Veeraiah, who lost narrowly in 2009 elections. Mr. Veeraiah has already begun the ground work by meeting people and holding meetings with community elders.

Here too, the Congress appears to be on a weak wicket. Former ZP Chairperson K. Vijaya, state youth congress chief Sudhakar Babu and Dalit Bahujan Front convener Korivi Vinay Kumar have thrown their hat in the ring, though a final choice has not been made.

Prathipadu constituency has a fair mix of Kamma, Telaga, BC and SC voters making it an interesting election. The constituency has been a stronghold of TDP since 1983 with Mr. Pedarathaiah winning a record five successive terms. But he too was swept away in the anti-incumbency wave in 2004 and lost to Ravi Venkata Ramana (Congress).