Nandyal parliamentary constituency in Kurnool district has some uniqueness this time. The contenders for the April 11 elections from the two main parties — TDP and YSRC — are fresh faces and they are taking on a senior politician, who is contesting from a party which is making its electoral debut.
Though 20 candidates, including 11 independents, are in the fray from Nandyal Lok Sabha segment, the fight is mainly between TDP’s Mandra Sivananda Reddy, YSRC’s Pocha Brahmananda Reddy and Jana Sena’s SPY Reddy, the sitting MP. SPY Reddy won the seat in the 2014 elections on YSRC ticket, but later he shifted loyalties to the TDP. After the yellow party denied him ticket, Reddy joined Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena party.
Jana Sena is a three-time MP of Nandyal. He won twice on Congress ticket and in 2014, he won on YSRC ticket. His rivals Pocha Bramananda Reddy of the YSRC party and Mandra Sivananda Reddy of the TDP are making their electoral debut and depending on their party’s strengths. While the duo have been campaigning at full throttle, SPY joined the electioneering a little late due to the uncertainty over his ticket from the TDP.
All the three contenders have managed to bring their party bosses N Chandrababu Naidu, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Pawan Kalyan for campaigning. With the visits of top leaders, the cadres and workers of the three parties expedited door-to-door visits in the segment. For the YSRC, which won the seat in 2014, the going will not be an easy task as its leaders including Mandra Sivananda Reddy and others shifted loyalties to the TDP. The TDP got a shot in the arm with the joining of Panyam MLA Gouru Charitha and former MLA Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy into its fold.
Of the seven Assembly constituencies falling under the Lok Sabha segment, TDP bagged six seats and the YSRC one in the 2014 elections. Compared to the last elections, number of female voters has increased in all the seven Assembly constituencies under the LS seat.
