Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu might have vowed to return to the state assembly only after becoming the chief minister again.
But he knows it is easier said than done. Forget about facing the onslaught of YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy all over the state, Naidu has to first ensure that he is not ousted from his own assembly constituency Kuppam.
For, Jagan’s senior colleague in the cabinet Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, who has been an arch rival of Naidu since pre-YSRC days, has been systematic attempts to wrest Kuppam seat from Naidu.
In the last one year, he has already ensured that Kuppam has become a stronghold of YSRC by winning 90 per cent of the gram panchayats, mandal parishad and zilla parishad seats and finally municipality, decimating the TDP completely at the grassroots level.
This was openly admitted by Naidu during his interaction with the party leaders a couple of days ago.
“Kuppam has been the TDP bastion and the people there show a lot of affection towards me. Even in my own constituency, the YSRC has managed to gain hold by resorting all sorts of atrocities and malpractices in elections. One can imagine the plight of the TDP in other constituencies,” he said.
It is learnt Peddireddy’s younger son Sudheer Reddy is going to be the YSRC candidate from Kuppam in the next elections and both the father-son duo have already started spreading their network there.
They took up Palle Baata programme and toured every nook and corner of Kuppam, resolving people’s issues.
Realising that he is going to face a political burial in Kuppam in the next elections if he doesn’t act, the TDP chief has also started focussing on the constituency.
He has begun his three-day tour in Kuppam from Thursday to rejuvenate the cadre and get closer to the people again.
Naidu would be conducting meetings, road shows and door-to-door interaction with the people, so as to protect his vote bank.
His prime focus is th see that the electorate is not shifted to the YSRC, particularly Peddireddy.
It would be interesting to see how Naidu would face the onslaught of Peddireddy in Kuppam and win the next elections.
