Nellore rural becomes a poll dilemma for Telugu Desam

Nellore: Telugu Desam is in a dilemma over deciding the candidate for Nellore parliament and Nellore rural segment allegedly because of the indecisiveness of former minister and Telugu Desam senior leader Adala Prabhakar Reddy, who is in-charge of Nellore rural and parliament segments, over contesting for the Lok Sabha seat.

In this backdrop the party has been considering the name of Amaravati Capital Development Advisory Committee me-mber and former legislator Beeda Masthan Rao for the parliament seat if Mr Adala decides to contest for assembly.

Even in this scenario, the party is not free from complications because Mr Adala is keen on contesting from Kovur assembly segment instead of Nellore rural, which he has been nurturing as an in-charge for the last four and half years.

Party is certain to face a piquant situation from TD sitting legislator in Kovur, Polamreddy Srinivasulu Reddy if it yields to Mr Adala's pressure. To avoid this, the party is likely to advise Mr Adala to contest from Kavali if he is not interested in Nellore rural.

A district level functionary of the party said the party may opt for party leader Pellakuru Srinivasulu Reddy for Nellore rural segment if Mr Adala is moved to Kavali.

Party leaders believe that Mr Pellakuru is a better candidate for Nell-ore rural since he is close to minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy as well as Mr Adala.

In addition to this, his daughter was married to the son of Dr Z. Siva Prasad, floor leader of TD in Nellore civic body, recently.

Though there are differences between Mr Adala and Mr Reddy for a long time, both are expected to work for the success of Mr Pellakuru.

Moreover, Mr Pellakuru is capable of mobilising funds without depen-ding much on the party unlike other candidates in the race.

Party is also obligated to Mr Pellakuru since it promised a seat to him in 2019 after he agreed to leave Kovur seat to Mr Polamreddy Srinivasulu Reddy, a last minute entrant, in 2014.

As of now, those aspiring for Nellore rural seat include mayor S.K. Abd-ul Aziz, TD leaders Anam Jayakumar Reddy, Talla-paka Anuradha and Kotamreddy Srinivasulu Reddy.

The name of MLC and party district unit president Beeda Ravichandra is also doing the rounds since he is acceptable to all but he feels that he cannot pay attention on working towards the victory of his brother Beeda Masthan if he enters the fray.

A senior leader of the party said the party may offer the MLC seat of minister P. Narayana, who is after Nellore city seat, to Mr Aziz to keep him in good humour and use him for campaigning in Muslim dominated areas of the state.

A party functionary said it was high time for the party to decide candidates without delaying further as the YSR Congress nominees have already completed one round of campaign in their segments and ready to give a tough fight for TD nominees.