MVV Goes it Alone in East Constituency

VISHAKHAPATNAM: Vizag MP, MVV Satyanarayana, is participating in the ‘Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam’ along with second rung leaders.

On the second day of the programme, three aspirants for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the constituency, Mayor Hari Kumari, MLC Vamsi Yadav and VMRDA chairperson Akkaramani Vijayanirmala were not present.

Sources in the party said there was resentment among the Yadav community as the post was not given to them.

Akkaramani Vijayanirmala was coordinator for Bheemili in 2018. But she was brought to East and pitched against TD stalwart Velagapudi Ramakrishna in the 2019 polls. She lost by a margin of 26,000 votes.

Subsequently she was made chairperson of VMRDA. She entertained hopes of getting another chance in 2024 till last month, but the changing scenario made the party high command choose MVV Satyanarayana as the coordinator.

Similarly, the claim of Vamsi Yadav was also ignored in the past two elections and he hoped for the party ticket for the 2124 polls, even though he was made an MLC.

All the three candidates belong to the Yadav community, the most-dominant in the East constituency.

A top leader from the community said YSRC won 11 out of the 15 municipal wards due to the strength of Yadavs in the last polls, even as Velagapudi Ramakrishna of the TD won the assembly seat with a huge majority.

However, feelers have been sent by the YSRC, indicating that Akkaramani Vijayanirmal would be given an MLC seat after the party forms the next government and that one Yadav would be given the MP seat.

Top sources said Mayor Hari Kumari leads the MP candidates’ list though she still has 30 more months in the mayor chair. She had won her GVMC division by the highest margin among all corporators.

“There is no resentment among the Yadavs. On day one yesterday, the mayor  was with me. Others will join the programme soon,’’ said MVV Satyanarayana.