Paritala family to lose seat due to TD-JS alliance

Anantapur: The Paritala family is likely to face the impact of Telugu Desam’s alliance with Jana Sena. The JS is firm on getting the Dharmavaram assembly segment in Satya Sai district, a stronghold of the slain Paritala Ravindra family.

However, family members would decide who their candidate should be in Rapthadu assembly segment where former minister Paritala Sunitha was the TD incharge. Her son Paritala Sriram is the incharge of Dharmavaram assembly segment.

Sriram was made incharge after former MLA G Suryanarayana of TD shifted his loyalty to the BJP soon after the YSRC was voted to power.

Dharmavaram has been a sensitive segment with faction clout. JS general secretary Madhusudhan Reddy has won support for the party and Pawan Kalyan. Madhusudhan  has close access to all mandals including Dharmvaram town.

In view of JS being firm on getting the Dharmavaram seat among the 10 seats of Rayalaseema region, the Paritala family – either Sunitha or her son Sriram -- has to bow out of contest for the Rapthady seat in the upcoming polls if the Dharmavaram seat is given to the JS.

Sources from the JS said the party was firm on at least 10 MLA seats from Rayalaseema region including the district headquarters of Anantapur, Tirupati, Rajampet and Chittoor assembly segments. In view of the strong JS hold and fan-following for Pawan Kalyan, the Jana Sena party is seeking 10 key segments.

This demand from the JS has caused tension for the TD incharges and former MLAs who were expecting tickets for the assembly. The TD leaders are worried about their political future.

Among the 10 assembly segments sought by the Jana Sena are Anantapur urban and Guntakal in Anantapur district, Tirupati and Srikalahasti segments in Tirupati district, Dharmavaram in Satya Sai district, Chittoor, Rajampet and Railway Koduru in Annamayya district, Aluru in Kurnool district and Allagadda in Nandyal district of Rayalaseema region.

As a survey report projected the possibility of Jana Sena getting between 50-60 assembly seats out of the 175 in AP, the party is firm on getting at least 10 constituencies. The JS had won only one seat in the 2019 assembly polls.

A senior TD leader noted that this was a period of crucial struggle for the party, and the JS in alliance format with the TD was bent on getting even key seats for its contest.  “This alliance would likely have an adverse impact on several senior TD leaders who are acting as assembly incharges and who formerly were MLAs in these constituencies,” he said.