Cycle symbol to disappear from ballot in Tirupati Assembly, LS seats

Tirupati : As it has become clear that Jana Sena Party and BJP are set to contest from Tirupati Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies respectively as part of their alliance with TDP, there will be no cycle symbol in the fray from this key constituencies. The TDP cadres who have been fighting the ruling party for the last five years and held various programmes, are disheartened completely and are in a state of despair.

Tirupati is a stronghold of TDP and it has a good and dedicated cadre. They have been fighting the ruling party on many occasions and faced several problems in these five years and strengthened the party. There was a strong perception among them that the TDP will win the Tirupati Assembly seat this time. A senior leader in the party commented that the party candidate M Sugunamma lost her election with a very slim margin of 708 votes in the hands of YSRCP candidate Bhumana Karunakar Reddy.

Even in earlier elections too, TDP registered significant victories. In 2014, TDP nominee M Venkataramana defeated Bhumana by 41,539 votes. In 2015 byelection, which was necessitated with the death of Venkataramana, his wife Sugunamma defeated Congress candidate R Sreedevi by 1,16,524 votes. The party also won the seat in 1983, 1994 and 1999 with comfortable margins.

Another leader said that despite disappointment they will support the Jana Sena party candidate as it is inevitable to defeat the YSRCP candidate. Also, they will abide by the party chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s decisions. Yet, there must be a strong difference in working directly for a TDP candidate and the candidate from the alliance parties.

At least, TDP should have taken Tirupati Lok Sabha seat, felt another worker. In such a case, party cadres have no option but to plunge into direct action for its candidate. Allotting it to BJP has affected the sentiments of party cadres severely, he felt. “We are not against Jana Sena or BJP. It is important to forge an alliance with them in the present political scenario. But, it is equally important to safeguard the interests of the TDP cadres and leaders”, he opined.

It was a bitter pill to swallow that both the Tirupati Assembly and Lok Sabha seats were currently held by the YSRCP, leaving TDP workers feeling marginalised and ineffective. If JSP and BJP candidates were to emerge victorious in the upcoming elections, the same narrative would persist for another five years, potentially leading to the scattering of TDP supporters come the 2029 elections.