Hyderabad, April 11: Even before the issuance of the election notification (which will be released tomorrow) for the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly seats slated for May 8, the war of words between the contesting candidates is intensifying. It will be a triangular fight between the Congress, TDP and YSR Congress Party candidates.
Leaders of all the three parties are busy reviewing their strategies from time to time. Electioneering, which has already begun in Kadapa district, will be further intensified after completion of filing of nomination papers (April 18) by the contesting candidates.
In all, “YSR’s name and his photo and the programmes launched by him during his six years tenure as chief minister” will dominate the electioneering.
Congress candidates DL Ravindra Reddy and YS Vivekananda Reddy (a formal announcement is yet to be made by the party leadership) who are contesting the byelections for Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly seats respectively, are cabinet ministers in the Kiran Kumar Reddy government. Though they claim that the TDP candidates will be their main opponents, they have been targeting Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress party.
Their opponents in the byelections include MV Mysoora Reddy (TDP-Lok Sabha), M Ravindranath Reddy also known as B. Tech Ravi (TDP-Pulivendula) and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and YS Vijayalakshmi of YSR Congress party (for Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly). They have already launched their election campaigning.
Kadapa Lok Sabha Congress candidate DL Ravindra Reddy said TDP’s Mysoora Reddy would be his main contender since Jagan’s party had no ‘ideology’ to fight the polls.
He criticised the former MP as one who was power-hungry with an intention to loot the state. It was ridiculous that Jagan, who had never raised public problems in Parliament, was contesting again.
Even his mother Vijayamma, as Pulivendula MLA, had never raised her voice in the Assembly.
People would teach them a lesson now, he remarked. On the other hand, Jagan who is making all-out efforts to win the seat again, described the byelections as a fight between “YSR’s credibility and Sonia Gandhi’s betrayal”.
He had also said that the fight would be between “Kadapa and Delhi”. He lashed out at the Congress government for its ‘failure’ to implement schemes like students’ fee reimbursement and irrigation projects under Jalayagnam after YSR’s death.
As for the TDP, its candidates claim that it will be a fight between “honesty and corruption” targeting the ruling Congress and family members of YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
–Agencies