TDP's Nani facing tough times in Chandragiri

Chittoor: Chandragiri Assembly constituency is considered as a peculiar Assembly segment in Chittoor district. G Arunakumari was elected on Congress ticket in 1989, 1999,2004, and 2009 elections. But she was defeated in 2014 polls as TDP candidate. Her rival and YSRCP candidate Ch Bhaskar Reddy won the seat in 2014 polls. Right from 1983 general elections, TDP won the seat in 1985 ( Jayadeva Naidu and 1994 ( N Ramamurthy Naidu ) only.

In such a typical constituency, District TDP chief P Nani contested against YSRCP's senior leader Ch Bhaskara Reddy in the recently concluded elections (2019). Basically, he is an industrialist having some granite units and bus transport in Chittoor. He belongs to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's community which is said to be an advantage for him.

He joined TDP as a youth leader a decade ago and served the party as general secretary also in recent times . He maintains cordial relations with TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and other senior leaders of the party. Though Chittoor MLA D A Satya Prabha is particular to retain her seat , P Nani made futile effort to get the ticket for Chittoor seat in 2019 elections. He made all sorts of efforts to convince the Chief Minister in this regard. But the party chief had instructed him to contest from Chandragiri only.

He is a new face to Chandragiri voters, but he is making all out efforts to win the race. Nani has faced number of post poll challenges in the tough fight for Chandragiri seat. The Election Commission has added fuel by announcing repolling for seven polling centres in Chandragiri and the issue has become subject for national debate. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and others have condemned the alleged nepotism of EC towards YSRCP.