Exit of the VMRDA chief might affect the polling equations

The party’s performance in the Visakhapatnam East and Bhimili Assembly seats is probably going to be impacted by the resignation of YSRC leader and former chairwoman of the Visakhapatnam Metro Region Development Authority (VMRDA) on Friday. The Yadava community, which is well-represented in the seats of Visakhapatnam East and South, Bheemili, and Gajuwaka, is where Vijaya Nirmala comes from.

Intriguingly, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, the TDP’s candidate in the last three elections, is being backed by both Akkaramani and Vamsi Krishna Srinivas for the 2024 election. Vamsi Krishna joined Jana Sena, while Akkaramani joined TDP.

In the Visakhapatnam South seat, Vamsi, a candidate for the Jana Sena as part of the NDA coalition, has previously endorsed Ramakrishna Babu and even co-hosted a news conference with him. Akkaramani, who joined the TDP without conditions, will now back Velagapudi.

Before, Vijaya Nirmala was a serious candidate for the YSRC ticket in the Visakhapatnam East Assembly seat, where she ran against Velagapudi in the 2019 elections but was not successful. As she and Vamsi Krishna fought for the Visakhapatnam East YSRC ticket, the party has selected MVV Satyanarayana, a Vizag MP, as its candidate. Vamsi left the party and joined Jana Sena, resenting the decision. The Jana Sena received Visakhapatnam South, where he is now campaigning, as part of the seat-sharing agreement.

With YSRC taking power, Akkaramani was proposed to be the chairman of the VMRDA. On the other side, Chandra Mouli was proposed to the VMRDA once her term ended. From that point on, she has avoided interaction with YSRC. Despite her Bheemili origins, she is influential in the Visakhapatnam East constituency. Since 2019, she has become the East Constituency’s nurse.