Tough fight expected between Lakshmana Rao, Alapati

Guntur : Tough competition is expected between Progressive Democratic Front candidate KS Lakshmana Rao and TDP candidate Alapati Rajendra Prasad in the Guntur-Krishna Districts Graduates MLC election scheduled for Thursday.

Lakshmana Rao has contested four times for the State Legislative Council and has been elected three times. He is running for the fifth time in the State Legislative Council elections, competing for the second time from the Guntur-Krishna Districts Graduates MLC constituency. He actively participates in Zilla Parishad, Guntur Municipal Corporation, and DRC meetings, voicing the concerns of the public. Dissatisfaction among government employees, teachers, lecturers, and contract workers regarding the coalition government in the state is a positive aspect for him. Teachers, lecturers, and various unions are campaigning in his favour. Meanwhile, TDP candidate Alapati Rajendra Prasad served as the technical education minister in 1994 in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh. He has contested six times for the State Legislative Assembly and has been elected three times. In the 2024 Assembly elections, TDP allocated the Tenali Assembly constituency seat to JSP Political Affairs Committee chairman Dr Nadendla Manohar. Rajendra Prasad voluntarily gave up his seat for Dr Nadendla Manohar in the Assembly elections.

Considering this, TDP nominated him for the Guntur-Krishna Districts Graduates MLC constituency seat. The coalition government successfully won all Assembly constituencies in the Guntur and Krishna districts in the recent elections, which benefits Alapati Rajendra Prasad. Union Minister for Rural Development and Communications Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, TDP Parliamentary Party leader Lavu Sri Krishnadevarayalu, Minister for IT Nara Lokesh, Minister for Civil Supplies Dr Nadendla Manohar, Minister for Housing and I&PR KP Saradhi, Minister for Excise Kollu Ravindra, and MP Vallabhaneni Bala Soury are constituents within the Guntur-Krishna Districts Graduates MLC constituency. TDP, BJP, and JSP leaders are supporting and campaigning for his success, although Ponnuru MLA Dhulipala Narendra has not participated in the campaign. MPs Lavu Sri Krishnadevarayulu, Vallabhaneni Bala Souri, Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni), and T Krishna Prasad are also not actively working for Alapati Rajendra Prasad’s victory.

The Guntur-Krishna Districts Graduates MLC constituency election is significant for the ruling TDP, as it includes the state capital Amaravati, the State Secretariat, the Assembly, the State Legislative Council, and the High Court.