VIJAYAWADA/KAKINADA: Now that the campaign for the Nandyal byelection is over, the leaders of the TDP and YSRC have their eyes set on the Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) which is going to polls on August 29, a day after the results of the Nandyal bypoll. This is exactly why both the parties are worried about the impact the outcome of the bypoll would have on the civic polls in Kakinada.
Most leaders admitted off record that they had their fears, but refusing to get off the high horse, Civil Supplies Minister Prattipati Pulla Rao said, “On August 28, the YSRC will taste its first defeat in Nandyal and on August 29, it will be wiped off from Kakinada.”
YSRC district president K Kanna Babu, on the other hand, said there was no doubt about the YSRC’s victory. “The Kapu factor will work in our favour. There is a lot of anger against the TDP in Kakinada as the sanitation has gone from bad to worse after the city was accorded smart city status,” he claimed.
The election is being held in 48 of the 50 divisions as there is a stay order on elections in two divisions. There are as many as 241 candidates in the fray. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is now concentrating on scripting strategies to win the polls in the Kapu heartland of East Godavari, where Mudragada Padmanabham has been agitating for BC status for the community. Naidu will visit Kakinada on August 27 to shore up support for the TDP’s and BJP’s candidates. The Civil Supplies Minister has been asked to stay put in Kakinada in the meantime and ensure that the TDP will win the election.
The Chief Minister, during a teleconference session, told TDP leaders it would not be difficult to ensure the victory of TDP and BJP candidates in all the 48 divisions if they explained the kind of development that had been brought about in the state and in Kakinada thanks to the yellow party. “Winning is different from remaining under the impression that you will win,” he reportedly told party leaders.
As far as the YSRC is concerned, the election is a prestige issue. Leaders RK Roja and Ummareddy Venkatewarlu are visiting Kakinada. Jagan Mohan Reddy will join them soon.
As there is a problem of rebels for the TDP in many divisions, the party leadership is trying its best to make them retire from the contest. In divisions which had been allotted to the BJP as part of the poll alliance, the presence of TDP candidates is causing embarrassment to the ruling party. The BJP is contesting in nine divisions while the TDP is fielding its candidates in 39 divisions. In as many as 15 divisions, the TDP has the problem of rebels, while there are 27 YSRC rebels in 48 divisions.
“We hope to resolve all issues relating to candidates. We are doing door-to-door campaigning. By the time the Chief Minister arrives, we would have solved the issue,” TDP district president N Rambabu said.
The YSRC too is confident that it will be able to address the rebel problem. “I think we will be able to persuade them to retire from the contest,” former MLA and YSRC district president K Kanna Babu said.
‘Victory different from hope’
CM tells TDP it would not be difficult to ensure victory if leaders explained the kind of development brought about by the TDP. “Winning is different from the impression that you will win,” he said.