Peeved Aruna leaves for US in a huff

Tirupati: Former Minister and TDP leader Galla Aruna Kumari has left for the US peeved at the TDP for not nominating her for the MLC seat. She said she was stepping out of responsibility of coordinating the TDP affairs in Chandragiri Assembly segment as its in-charge.

• She expected MLC nomination, but was given to Muddu’s widow

She expected the TDP would nominate her for the MLC seat from local bodies constituency, but it went to former minister Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu. When Muddu Krishnama Naidu died, she expected at least this time the TDP would nominate her to the post. 

When the TDP fielded Muddukrishnam Naidu’s widow for the seat, she had thought enough was enough. She made up her mind to remain aloof from the TDP when Chandrababu Naidu preferred Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy to Aruna Kumari when it came to making appointment to the post of chairman of AP State Housing Development Corporation.

Aruna Kumari, who was minister in the Congress regime, joined the TDP after the Congress was on its downhill journey following the bifurcation of the state in 2014 and contested from Chandragiri her home constituency on TDP ticket. But YSRC’s Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy stopped her dream run in wresting the seat election after election by defeating her in 2014.

The official reason that Aruna Kumari gave for stepping out as constituency in-charge was that since her son Galla Jayadev is MP from Guntur she wants to help him in his efforts for reelection. With the departure of Aruna Kumari from Chandragiri, the Telugu Desam Party has no leader worth their name in the constituency.

The TDP is scouting for a suitable candidate. There are unconfirmed reports that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu himself might contest from Chandragiri, leaving his home constituency Kuppam for his son to seek election to the Assembly.

Party central leadership was of the view that this move, will also put a check to the sitting YSRCP MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy who is known for his firebrand image and a trusted lieutenant of YSR family. In the same breath, a few leaders are of the view that Lokesh may not contest Assembly elections this time and prefer to remain an MLC and look after party affairs in the crucial elections.

In that case, TDP may have to find a powerful candidate to match Bhaskar Reddy for which several names are doing rounds. Prominent among them are Saikam Jayachandra Reddy, a former Praja Rajyam leader who later joined TDP. 

It is quite possible that Aruna Kumari might change her mind and express consent to contest from Chandragiri on TDP ticket. Chandrababu Naidu, who is ill at ease with the mood swings of Aruna Kumari, for the time being is looking for an alternative but if he finds none, he may have to settle for Aruna Kumari since she has vast resources and influence in her constituency.

Naidu hailed from this segment and was the first MLA to be represented from there after it was made a constituency in 1978. After that, Naidu left the constituency in 1989. Significantly, TDP won only twice after the party was founded in 1983 while Congress won the seat four times and YSRCP once. It remains to be seen what surprises are in store for this constituency.

By V Pradeep Kumar