BJP finalises candidates for Rajampet, Tirupati LS seats

Tirupati: As expected, BJP has opted for two Lok Sabha seats from the erstwhile Chittoor district and it is going to field its candidates on behalf of the alliance with TDP and JSP.

The national party will be in fray from Tirupati reserved and Rajampet Lok Sabha constituencies. Last Chief Minister of the combined State of AP, Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, will contest from Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency while YSRCP sitting MLA from Gudur, V Varaprasad Rao, has been fielded from Tirupati.

Interestingly, for Varaprasad this will be the second battle in Lok Sabha elections from Tirupati. He had earlier registered victory when he contested on the YSRCP ticket from Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency in 2014.

However, the party denied him the MP ticket for the second time and instead sent him to contest from the Gudur Assembly constituency in 2019 and he had emerged victorious. This time the YSRCP has denied any ticket to him citing negative survey reports.

After this, it was learnt that he tried for Jana Sena ticket from Gudur but could not get any assurance. Finally, giving a shock to the ruling YSRCP, he joined the BJP in New Delhi on Sunday and secured the Lok Sabha ticket from his old seat itself. This former civil servant is a native of Krishna district and will face sitting YSRCP MP Dr M Gurumoorthy in Tirupati Lok Sabha election.

On the other hand Kiran Kumar Reddy is a seasoned politician who won three times on Congress ticket from the erstwhile Vayalpadu Assembly constituency and one time from Piler Assembly constituency after Vayalpadu was merged in it.

He became the Chief Minister of the combined State of AP in 2011 following the resignation of Konijeti Rosaiah. Kiran strongly opposed the State bifurcation and resigned as CM, MLA and to the Congress party on February 19, 2014 after the Telangana Bill was passed in Lok Sabha.

He formed Jai Samaikyandhra Party and fielded a few candidates in the elections in 2014 but he never contested then and even in 2019. Kiran joined the BJP almost a year ago and was made its national executive member. He is known for his straight forwardness and will test his fortunes for the first time in Lok Sabha elections. He will fight against two-time MP Peddireddy Midhun Reddy for Rajampet Lok Sabha seat.

Earlier, in 2014 also BJP candidate D Purandeswari contested as alliance candidate from the same seat but lost the election to Midhun Reddy. However, it was believed that the ruling party is facing the heat of reorganisation of districts as the people of Madanapalle and Rajampet have strongly opposed the move and protested the decision to make Rayachoti as Annamayya district headquarters. They wanted the headquarters to be in their towns and held serious protests.

Meanwhile, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu announced earlier that after coming to power he will announce Madanapalle district. How these developments affect the fortunes of the two main contenders in the constituency remain to be seen.