East Godavari, March 21: In East Godavari, the Congress rebel and Jagan group candidate Kudipudi Chittabbayi seems to enjoy an edge over Congress candidate Gidugu Rudra Raju, the sitting MLC, who appears to have fallen out of favour with the voters. Moreover, Raju’s OC following in the BC-dominated segments may not be of much help to him. Many voters have boycotted a meeting convened by minister Viswaroop regarding the polls.
Ministers Pinipe Viswaroop, Thota Narasimham, DCC president and ZP chairman Chelluboyina Venu Gopala Krishna are among the leaders working for Raju.
TDP leaders Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Gorantla Buchaiah Choudary and district president Nimmakayala Chinna Rajappa have taken upon themselves the task of ensuring the victory of its candidate Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao. However, poll observers feel that it is the Congress rebel and YS Jagan group candidate Kudipudi Chittabbayi, a BC, who has the highest winning chances with the BC voters reportedly deciding to back the Jagan group. Chittabbayi enjoys the backing of MLAs Pilli Subashchandra Bose, Dwarampudi Chandra Sekhar Reddy, former MLAs Jyothula Nehru and Varupula Subba Rao.
Fearing poaching, the Congress is learnt to have moved 300 of its voters to camps at Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Goa. On the other hand, taking advantage of the fierce contest, the voters are learnt to be demanding up to Rs 1 lakh for each vote while women voters have been asking for gold ornamnets.
–Agencies