Tirupati bypoll – A litmus test for TDP

Tirupati by-election is likely to be a litmus test for the popularity of Telugu Desam Party. The party which has been hoping for a unanimous election is now moving heaven and earth to ensure that its party candidate wins hands down.

The yellow party fears that if the Congress party candidate Sridevi succeeds in saving the deposit, then it could be seen as a setback for the TDP since the Congress candidate is new to politics and no important leader of the Congress is campaigning on her behalf.

The TDP is sure that the party candidate Suguna will win the seat on sympathy wave as her husband M Venkataramana who died recently was a very popular leader in that constituency. He was known as a leader who was easily accessible to the people.

However, the Congress party hopes that it will succeed in getting a fairly good number of votes which could be the beginning of regaining its lost ground in the district. Though not many local leaders are actively participating in the campaign, the national party is going round alleging that the TDP is focusing all its attention on the coastal belt and was ignoring Rayalaseema.

The TDP had promised IIT and AIIMs for Tirupati but so far there has been no progress in that direction while the capital city and IIM had gone to the neighboring region.

The former Congress MP Chinta Mohan in fact wanted to highlight the alleged illegal land dealings of Venkataramana, but the party leaders felt that it would cause greater damage to Congress.

At the same time, the Congress party has its own cup of woes. There is lack of cooperation from the local leaders who are opposed to fielding of Sridevi a self-help group leader. They are upset that the party high command did not seek their opinion and took unilateral decision in selecting the candidate.

Moreover most of the Congress leaders have been close to Venkataramana who was also in Congress till last elections. Ramana had joined TDP soon after the bifurcation of the State.

By: V Ramu Sarma