Following the death of Venkataramana, TDP legislator from Tirupati, a by-poll was necessitated in that constituency which has been scheduled for February 13.
In such instances, it has been the practice for other political parties not to contest if the ticket is allotted to a family member of the deceased.
The TDP has given the ticket to Venkataramana wife. The TDP also called up Jagan and Raghuveera Reddy and requested them not to put up their contestants. Jagan has agreed to it. But surprisingly, the Congress has decided to contest the election and given the ticket to local leader, L Sridevi.
The Congress has done absolutely the right thing! It is high time that somebody puts an end to these politics of sentiment. Giving tickets o family members of the deceased will only further the ‘rule of families’ in politics.
It is Venkataramana who won the support of the people of his constituency and there is no guarantee of any sorts that his successors will prove themselves equally capable.
Has PJR’s son, Vishnu been at least half as capable as PJR? Character and not sentiment should be the guiding factor in electing people’s representatives and for this reason, whenever by-polls are held anywhere, all Parties should contest seriously. They owe it to the people in a democracy!
