Hyderabad, March 14: Congress nominees seeking election to the Legislative Council from local bodies’ constituencies in Anantapur and Nellore are finding the going tough.
If former minister JC Diwakar Reddy’s supporters are giving official candidate and DCC president Patil Venugopal Reddy sleepless nights in Anantapur, it is YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s men who are making life difficult for Congress nominee V Narayana Reddy in Nellore.
About 60 voters owing allegiance to Diwakar Reddy in Anantapur have decided to stay away from elections slated for March 21. The reason they cite is that Patil Venugopal Reddy “is a persona non grata” since he “never bothered about them nor gave Diwakar Reddy the kind of respect he deserves” in the district.
Till now, Venugopal Reddy had been under the impression that his election was a foregone conclusion as Jagan Mohan Reddy had not seriously contemplated upsetting his apple cart.
Of the total 948 votes in the constituency, the Congress has as many as 498 and the TDP about 450. Now that Diwakar Reddy’s men want to opt out of the election, Venugopal Reddy is walking on thin ice. JC’s voters are on their way to Goa, sources said. In Nellore, the election is dicey. The TDP, Congress and Jagan Mohan Reddy are running camps to “protect” their voters from rivals. The TDP is fielding B Ravichandra and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ’s candidate is Ramireddy Pratapkumar Reddy. According to sources, Jagan Mohan Reddy has managed to get the support of 245 voters while the Congress has 182 in its camp. The TDP has 205 voters out of the total number 645 voters.
The Congress, according to Jagan supporters, is trying to poach voters while the young man’s camp remains wary of Congress leaders.
–Agencies