It has been a tradition in the Andhra Pradesh politics for several years that if a sitting MLA of a political party dies, the other parties will not field their candidates in the by-elections to enable any of the members of the deceased MLA elected unopposed.
Though this was violated in Telangana, it is still being followed in Andhra Pradesh. So, it is expected that the same tradition is followed in the case of Nandyal assembly seat, which has now fallen vacant with the sudden death of sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy due to heart attack on Sunday.
However, the tricky question now is which political party should stake claim for the Nandyal seat? Bhuma got elected on the YSR Congress party ticket, but shifted his loyalties to the TDP only last year. Yet, he continues to be a YSR Congress party MLA technically as per the assembly records.
As such, the Nandyal seat belongs to the YSRC. Bhuma’s son or daughter should contest on YSRC ticket and all the other parties should not field its candidate to see that he or she gets elected unopposed.
But, going by the TDP leaders’s point of view, Bhuma was a TDP MLA for all practical purposes and was even tipped for the cabinet berth. So, his family members should contest on the TDP ticket and all the other parties should not field their candidates.
So, whose seat is Nandyal? YSRC or the TDP? Well, it is better leave it to Bhuma’s family, rather than fighting on technicalities and traditions. For now, it looks like contest is inevitable in Nandyal with both the parties sticking to their guns.
