Elections 2014: 3-corner fight in Guntur

Guntur: Guntur West Assembly seat is the only constituency in the district where Congress is actually in the contest.

The constituency with a mix of both lower middle class and the relatively rich is witnessing a triangular fight among former minister Kanna Lakshminarayana of the Congress, former MP Modugula Venugopal Reddy of the TD and Lella Appireddy of the YSRC.

Apart from Congress strongman Kanna, former TD MP Modugula is a candidate to be watched as he was allegedly beaten up by the Congress MP during the Telangana Bill discussion in the Lok Sabha. The Congress also alleged him of “wielding the knife.”

The voters say that the contest will be both party and candidate-based. While TD MLA nominee Venugopal Reddy is claiming that he would try to make Guntur the capital of Seemandhra, Congress candidate Kanna is banking on the development works he had taken up.

The caste divide is very much evident in the constituency with a majority of the Kammas supporting TD and Kapus supporting Kanna.

Interestingly TD leaders claim that Pawan Kalyan support would fetch them Kapu votes denting Kanna’s vote bank. There is no Modi wave here. YSRC candidate Appirreddy bases his hopes on the ‘Jagan wave’ and his links with the poor as a trade union leader.

Mr Sambi Reddy, a resident of Koritepadu in Guntur West says, “It’s a triangular fight. But the contest would be between YSRC and TD though Kanna is also a strong candidate.”  TD candidate Modugula, though a late entrant, has improved his stakes dramatically by intensifying his campaign along with MP candidate Galla Jayadev.

What worries the YSRC is the possibility of cross voting by Kapus for MP candidate V. Balashowri of the YSRC and MLA candidate Kanna. While the TD candidate claims that the fight is between him and Kanna, the YSRC candidate says that Modugula and Kanna will be fighting for the second slot. Mr Modugula said, “Kanna as a candidate is strong but his party Congress is weak. As a party YSRC is strong but as a candidate Appireddy is weak. This is the only constituency where the Congress is in the fight.”

Mr Modugula Vengupal Reddy says, “TD is the only party that can develop Guntur as an alternative to Hyderabad.  This is possible only if Naidu becomes CM. As a minister he didn't do anything for the constituency,” Mr Modugula added.

By showing his video Modugula claimed that Jagan didn’t come to his rescue when he was beaten up in Parliament. Reacting to the allegations that he is flooding the polls with money he said, “Rules does not permit that. When rules are there how can I spent more than that?”

YSRC candidate Lella Appireddy says, "I rose from a grass root activist to MLA nominee. I was associated with autorickshaw  unions, market yard and jute mill traders. I have got people with me. I will win."