After working out concrete strategies to defeat Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu in his home turf Kuppam in Chittoor district at any cost, YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is said to be planning yet another operation, this time in Pithapuram to checkmate Jana Sena Party chief and power star Pawan Kalyan.
If senior YSRCP leader and power minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy is overseeing the implementation of strategies in Kuppam, his son and Rajampet MP Peddireddy Mithun Reddy has been entrusted with the task of implementing Operation Pithapuram to defeat Pawan Kalyan.
The party has already announced the candidature of Kakinada MP Vanga Geetha for Pithapuram assembly constituency and she has already begun her aggressive campaign, whereas Pawan Kalyan announced his candidature only on Thursday and is yet to begin his campaign.
At the same time, the party has roped in veteran Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham to join the YSRCP and very soon, he is going to launch a vigorous campaign in Pithapuram constituency.
Mithun Reddy has been regularly holding meetings with the party leaders and cadre in the constituency and overseeing the distribution of money and material to the workers and also voters to lure them.
In a sort of blessing in disguise for YSRCP, the announcement made by Pawan Kalyan on his contest from Pithapuram triggered unrest in the Telugu Desam Party.
Former MLA S V S N Varma, who was expecting the TDP ticket from Pithapuram erupted in anger with the seat being allocated to Jana Sena Party.
He held a meeting with his party workers, who asked him to resign from the party and contest the elections as an independent. In fact, in 2014, too, Varma won the seat as an independent after being denied ticket by the TDP.
Now, sources said, taking advantage of Varma’s dissidence, the YSRCP leadership is trying to lure him into the party by promising a better future, if he can help defeat of Pawan Kalyan this time. Sources said Varma is getting tempted with the YSRCP offer.
If all these factors work out, the YSRCP might not find it much difficult to defeat Pawan Kalyan in Pithapuram, sources added.
