A new nominee helps the TDP in Venkatagiri

The TDP is expected to gain from the finalization of Kurukondla Rama Krishna’s candidacy for the Venkatagiri Assembly seat, as he replaces his daughter Kurugondla Lakshmi Sai Priya.

Lakshmi Sai Priya was already declared by the party as their Venkatagiri nominee. She also met voters in the constituency and visited communities to kick off the election campaign.

The party high leadership, however, was apparently afraid that the local leaders may not endorse her candidacy, so they chose to put her father, a previous MLA, in the race and gave him a B Form.

Local authorities claim that because of his extensive network and expertise, Ramakrishna can easily overcome Nedurumalli Ramkumar Reddy, the YSRCP competitor.

Ramakrishna is a member of the Kamma community and hails from Balayapalli in the seat. Being an ardent supporter of TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu, he was elected as an MLA twice from the seat, in the elections held in 2009 and 2014.

With a majority of 6,776 and 5,635 votes, respectively, he beat YSRCP candidate Kommi Lakshmaidh Naidu in 2014 and Congress nominee Nedurumalli Rajya Lakshmi in 2009.

But in the 2019 elections, YSRCP candidate Aanm Ramanarayana Reddy beat him by a margin of 38,720 votes.

Ramakrishna’s personal influence among Venkatsgiri residents, who refer to him as “Ramanna,” as a senior TDP politician, may have contributed to the party’s decision to choose him as their candidate.

Meanwhile, trustworthy sources claim that YSRCP has reconsidered Ramkumar Reddy’s candidacy in light of the TDP’s candidate switch. A number of party heavyweights, including Mettukuru Dhanunjaya Reddy, have declared their opposition to his nomination and lack of support.

There is reportedly pressure on the YSRCP high leadership to replace Ramkumar Reddy, but the lack of qualified candidates is putting the party in a difficult situation.

Speaking for himself, a top YSRCP leader said that if incumbent MLA Anam Ramanarayana ran as the party’s candidate once again, the party would win handily.