Roja faces humiliating defeat in Nagari

Tirupati: R K Roja needs no separate introduction as she has become such a familiar personality in the political landscape with her firebrand image and comments particularly on TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and its national general secretary Nara Lokesh. This film star-turned politician, two-time MLA and a minister in the outgoing state cabinet was always amidst controversies.

Roja, who anticipated a third consecutive win, was defeated by her TDP rival Gali Bhanu Prakash by a substantial margin. In her previous victories, she had narrowly won by 858 votes in 2014 and 2708 votes in 2019, defeating Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu in 2014 and his son Gali Bhanu Prakash in 2019. This time, however, Bhanu Prakash achieved a decisive victory over Roja.

Her defeat, although expected by some, was notable for the large margin, surprising even TDP leaders. Roja faced significant challenges from within her own party during the election, with dissidence apparent from the stage of finalizing her candidature. Many local leaders and party members openly opposed her and declared they would not support her. Despite these issues, the party still endorsed her candidacy, which only fuelled further discontent among the ranks.

The discontent has brewed further and several mandal leaders tried to mount pressure on the party high command. Accusations of large-scale corruption, extortion and involvement in land and sand mafias were levelled against her by dissident leaders who campaigned against her. These allegations resonated with the constituency, with some villagers even barring her entry during the campaign.

In contrast, TDP candidate Gali Bhanu Prakash gained support from various quarters, including dissident YSRCP leaders who were determined to see Roja defeated. Bhanu Prakash’s engagement with the local population over the past five years bolstered his campaign.

Even Roja admitted this fact on the polling day by saying that she was not afraid of the TDP but worried about the dissident leaders who enjoyed various posts in the YSRCP government and now supported the opposition. This admission suggested that she had anticipated her defeat well in advance. The only solace to her was that she could fulfill her wish of becoming a minister.