Lokesh likely to contest from Bheemili constituency

Amaravati: The TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh’s candidature for the ensuing general elections has beenfinalisedfor Bheemili Assembly constituency in Visakhapatnam district.

After marathon exercise and discussions with party leaders, the party president N Chandrababu Naidu selected the constituency for his son, Lokesh on Friday. Lokesh said to The Hans India that the party has been seriously thinking that he should contest from Bheemili.

After formation of TDP, the segment witnessed 8 general elections. Out of them, TDP lost only two times. Congress won the constituency in 2004 general elections. During the 2009 general elections, the TDP was defeated by the PrajaRajyam Party headed by film actor K Chiranjeevi.

The TDP again gained its strength during the 2014 general elections, because of the Padayatra of Chandrababu Naidu. Minister for HRD Ganta Srinivasa Rao won in the 2014 polls with more than 37,000 votes majority over the YSRCP candidate Karri Sita Ramu.

Bheemili is one out of seven Assembly segments of the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency. In the last polls, the YSRCP candidate for Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha was YS Vijayamma, working president of the party and mother of the party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy. She lost the Lok Sabha elections in the hands of TDP-BJP alliance candidate K Haribabu.

Now, as the TDP has been giving priority for both Kapu and BCs in welfare schemes, development programmesand also encouraging them politically, the party top leaders felt that it will be easy for Lokesh to win the polls. The sitting TDP MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao will be given ticket from Visakhapatnam East Assembly Constituency, sources in the party informed.