Visakhapatnam: YSRCP candidates launch extensive campaignc

Visakhapatnam : The main Opposition party TDP which has to be in an aggressive mode appears to show a laid back attitude as far as election campaigning is concerned.

In seven constituencies across Visakhapatnam, the ruling YSRCP candidates are carrying out extensive campaigning. Visakhapatnam MP and YSRCP Visakhapatnam East constituency candidate MVV Satyanarayana, South constituency MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, West constituency coordinator Adari Anand Kumar and north constituency coordinator KK Raju have been on a fast track mode as their campaign vehicles have been covering every nook and corner of the respective constituencies.

As there was no uncertainty in terms of their candidature, they rolled out their election campaign months before the poll heat had picked up. Currently, their campaigning is steering towards revision mode after the successful completion of the first phase of the campaign.

In constituencies like Pendurthi and Bheemunipatnam, the poll campaign slowed down a bit as the candidates were confirmed much later.

Until recently, uncertainty prevailed in the Gajuwaka constituency for the YSRCP candidate. However, with the allotment of the ticket to IT Minister and Anakapalli MLA Gudivada Amarnath being confirmed, the wheels of the campaign vehicle are yet to pick up pace in the constituency.

After much dilly-dallying, the BJP finally sealed an alliance with TDP and JSP. This has substantially contributed to an inordinate delay in selecting the candidates for the alliance of the three parties.

In the first list, only two names surfaced. They included PGVR Naidu (Gana Babu) in the West constituency and Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu in the East constituency. In the subsequent list, Palla Srinivasa Rao received the green signal from the party high command to contest from Gajuwaka constituency.

However, candidates for Bheemunipatnam, Pendurthi, North and South constituencies are yet to be announced. Plus, there is no clarity on which party candidate among the BJP, TDP and JSP would get the ticket in these constituencies. As a result, aspirants from the three parties are getting into groups and working against each other's probable candidates. Eventually, such scenarios would not yield any positive outcome for the opposition.

In Visakhapatnam, considered as the financial capital of Andhra Pradesh, finalising party candidates at the earliest would help in leading them into the campaign mode and work together as a team.

At a time when the 'fan' wave swept in the 2019 elections, the TDP still could make its presence stronger in the urban constituencies in Visakhapatnam. However, in the 2024 polls, how the alliance candidates would fare needs to be seen.