Guntakal: TDP candidate Jayaram banks on pro-NDA wave

Guntakal (Anantapur) : Former YSRCP minister and Alur MLA in Kurnool district is now the TDP candidate for Guntakal Assembly constituency.

Y Venkatarami Reddy of YSRCP is the sitting MLA here. He is now renominated once again by his party, while YSRCP former minister Gummanur Jayaram is the TDP candidate. When his candidature was announced for Guntakal, TDP leaders and workers including ex-MLA R Jitendra Goud opposed his entry into the party. The initial opposition died down and the party workers have begun to reconcile with the decision of the TDP high command.

Talking to The Hans India, Jayaram stated that though he is the sitting MLA of Alur constituency in Kurnool district, Alur is a bordering constituency to Guntakal. The distance between the two constituencies is about 30 km.

Technically speaking he was originally born in a rural Guntakal village. He said that he knew everything about Guntakal and there are no cultural barriers between the two constituencies.

He said that the party leaders and workers were falling in line and they were cooperating with him. Soon, the entire TDP cadre along with its alliance partners would achieve total cohesiveness and will put up a united fight, he exuded confidence.

These are trivial issues when compared to the local people's resolve to bring back TDP to power. The constituency people are asking for development including rural roads and drinking water. There is no mention of welfare schemes by the people.

Jayaram stated that he is promising them development of all villages and semi-urban areas. He admitted that the YSRCP gave him importance and made him Minister twice but the same person who watered the plants and made it grow has decided to axe the tree after growing.

Moreover people are discontented with the Jagan government as development is totally absent. Ultimately what matters to a leader most is people's demands and aspirations and not loyalty to any political party.

In view of the popular wave in favour of TDP, Jayaram said that the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance is all set to capture power in 2024 elections.

In 2009 Assembly elections, Madhusudan Gupta of the Congress, won against R Jitendra Goud of the TDP. In 2014, R Jitendra Goud defeated his Congress rival Madhusudan Gupta and won as MLA. In 2019, Y Venkatarami Reddy of the YSRCP won against his TDP rival Jitendra Goud and also against Jana Sena candidate Madhusudan Gupta.

For the 2024 elections, former TDP MLA Jitendra Goud has been sidelined to accommodate Gummaluru Jayaram while Y Venkatarami Reddy is renominated by the YSRCP.

Jayaram is banking on the TDP and its alliance partners’ wave sweeping the State as well as on his development plank. The total voter population is 2,52,352. Most of the voters are railway employees.

It has been a railway town and a railway junction from the time of the British rule. The employees of the Central and State governments constitute a huge chunk of the total electorate. Gooty, Pamidi and Guntakal are the three mandals in the constituency. Even Gooty has considerable railway employees and also Christian population in both Guntakal and Gooty and a small chunk of Anglo-Indian community.