Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who has dominated the party politics in the combined Visakhapatnam district for several years, is most likely to be shifted out of the district this time due to political compulsions.
According to reports circulating in the district, TDP president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is learned to have discussed with Ganta the possibility of him being relocated to the neighboring Vizianagaram district.
Apparently, Naidu faces serious political compulsions – there is a demand from the Jana Sena Party for the Visakhapatnam (north) assembly constituency which Ganta currently represents.
Previously, he had won the assembly elections four times, twice from Anakapalle and once from Chodavaram and Bheemili constituencies since 1999. In the 2019 assembly elections, he shifted to Visakhapatnam (north).
Sources indicate that Naidu has requested Ganta to shift to the Cheepurupalli assembly constituency in Vizianagaram district to challenge senior YSR Congress party leader and current education minister Botsa Satyanarayana.
It is understood that Naidu could not find a suitable candidate to contest against Botsa and believes that Ganta is the only strong individual who can challenge Botsa's dominance in the district and defeat him.
Since Vizianagaram is not very far from Visakhapatnam, it may not be entirely unfamiliar territory for Ganta to contest the elections. Additionally, he has significant business interests in the area. Hence, he is considered the most suitable candidate for Cheepurupalli, according to sources.
It is not immediately known what Ganta's response is to Naidu’s proposal.
