Cheepurupalli (Vizianagaram): Former PCC president, minister and two-time MLA from Cheepurupalli Botsa Satyanarayana may not have it easy this time. In spite of his image taking a severe beating in his own district for his dictatorial attitude and because of his henchmen including his nephew Majji Srinivasa Rao alias Chinna Srinu’s land grabbing tactics, five people from Mr Satyanarayana’s family are contesting in Vizianagaram district this time.
The Cheepurupalli Assembly constituency, which was the bastion of the TD, went to the Congress when Mr Satyanarayana won in 2004 and 2009. Now, however, the anti-Botsa wave has doubled the Telugu Desam’s chances of winning from here and the party’s cadre are also confident that their candidate Kimidi Mrunalini will win this time as the YSRC has no cadre-base to speak of from here.
Meanwhile, the YSRC candidate for Cheepurupalli Assembly segment, Bellana Chandrasekhar (Peddababu), is expecting that the whirlwind public meetings of Y.S. Vijayalakshmi in the district will help him win. Mr Satyanarayana, many feel, has only helped his henchmen and thus he is a hero to only a few and a traitor to many in the district. The general opinion is that he has grabbed public and private properties in and around Vizianagaram with support from his nephew Chinna Srinu.
P. Manoj, a student and native of Cheepurupalli said, “Many people are victims of Botsa’s land grabbing tactics and the sand mafia and I cannot recall even a single developmental programme taken up in Cheepurupalli, and the district.” Other youngsters also said that Mr Satyanarayana was the only one from Seemandhra who had accepted the Congress leadership’s decision to divide the state. They alleged that it was because of him that the police had imposed a curfew in Vizianagaram town and illegally arrested many youngsters during the Samaikyandhra agitation.
“Not only people in the district but also government officials and the police were victims of Mr Satyanarayana and his family. The voters have realised that both Mr Satyanarayana and Peddababu will do nothing for them and I am very confident that it will be a cakewalk for me,” said TD’s Ms Mrunalini. Mr Bellana Chandrasekhar, the former ZPTC chairman of Vizianagaram, meanwhile said that people still remembered the welfare schemes launched by YSR and they had faith on YSRC chief.
Locals of Cheepurupalli also said that they would be paid Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 each before the elections to vote for a particular candidate as it was a prestige issue for the candidate to win. The Cheepurupalli constituency comprises Merakamudidam, Garividi, Cheepurupalli and Gurla mandals and many of Mr Satyanarayana’s close aides from here have recently joined the TD owing to resentment for the party after split. And though former TD legislator of Cheepurupalli Gadde Babu Rao was denied a ticket, his followers are supporting Ms Mrunalini.
