Nellore: Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy likely to be TDP-JSP candidate

Nellore : The chances of Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy to be the official candidate of TDP-JSP alliance for Nellore Lok Sabha constituency seem to have brightened following the decision of YSRCP which has decided to field P Sarath Chandra Reddy, son-in-law of Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy from this constituency.

Sarath is also the Managing director of Aurobindo Phama. Incidentally, he is also an accused turned approver in the Delhi liquor scam.

This constituency has 2,02,997 (constituting 11.83 per cent) Muslim voters spread over 7 Assembly constituencies Kandukuru, Kavali, Atmakuru, Kovuru, Nellore City, Nellore Rural and Udayagiri. The Muslim minority voters constitute 11.83 per cent of total voters in the constituency.

Nellore city constituency alone has 53,242 Muslim voters. At one point of time BJP thought of fielding Vemireddy but then it felt that it would be better if he contests as a TDP candidate lest they may lose Muslim minority votes. On the other hand, the TDP had won twice in 1984 and 1999 from Nellore Lok Sabha constituency.

In 1984, Putchalapalli Penchalaiah contested as TDP candidate and got elected getting 2,96,284 votes (54%) and Vukkala Rajeswaramma got elected against her political rival and Congress candidate Panabaka Lakshmi by 40,453 votes in 1999 elections.

TDP had lost this seat 4 times since 2009. In 2009 elections, Congress nominee Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy defeated his nearest rival of the TDP Venteru Venugopala Reddy by a margin of 54,993 votes.

Later Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy joined the YSRCP and defeated TDP nominee Adala Prabhakara Reddy with a majority of 13,478 votes in 2014 elections. Later Prabhakara Reddy joined YSRCP and defeated TDP nominee Beedha Masthan Rao with a majority of 1,48,571 votes in 2019 elections.