In Guntur West, every party stands a chance hopeful optimistic confident
Vijayawada: The Telugu Desam, YSR Congress, Jana Sena and BJP are all confident of winning the Guntur West Assembly seat.
With Kamma and Kapu voters holding the key to victory in this segment, the TD believes its traditional Kamma vote bank, numbering about 32,000, and BC votes, will see it through. However, the Jana Sena, which has fielded a Kapu candidate is sure that the 31,000-odd voters from the community will pitch in and give it the seat.
The YSRC, on its part, is depending on party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s campaign and hopes that the anti-incumbency factor will give it the seat. The BJP has fielded actress Pasupuleti Madhavi Latha, who is sweating it out to win the seat.
TD candidate Maddali Giridhar is a Vysya while the YSRC fielded former DIG Chandragiri Yesuratnam, a BC. The Jana Sena’s candidate, former IAS officer Thota Chandrasekhar, is a Kapu like Madhavi Latha. Well known physician T. Seva Kumar of Guntur has been fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party.
Modugula Venugopala Reddy had won the Guntur West Assembly seat on a TD ticket in 2104 by a margin of 17,913 votes. He joined the YSRC only recently and was given the ticket for the Guntur Lok Sabha seat.
While Kammas and Kapus are the key in the constituency, Vysya, Reddy, Muslim, SC and BC voters too can swing the results.
The constituency has 31,830 Kamma, 31,000 Kapu, 29,664 Mala, 24,757 Muslim, 24,000 Brahmins, 17,340 Reddy and 12,763 Vysya voters.
Mr Giridhar had lost from the Guntur East seat in 2014 to YSRC sitting MLA Md. Mustafa and the party high command shifted him to Guntur West seat, believing the mix of Kamma, Vysya, BCs and other voters will swing the result in his favour. Mr Giridhar has brought TD supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu to campaign on his behalf and has been canvassing with the support of TD leaders.
On his part, for DIG Yesuratnam is building on his image in the segment and campaigning tirelessly. YSRC leaders Y.S. Sharmila and Jagan Mohan Reddy too have campaigned in the constituency. The YSRC is banking on the ‘Jagan wave’, support of Mr Venugopala Reddy and split of the BC and Kapu votes between TD, JS and BJP.
Mr Chandrasekhar hopes that the Kapu, Yadava, BC and other voters will back him.
Bonaboina Srinivas Yadav, a BC leader in the TD, shifted over to the Jana Sena after being denied ticket by the TD. Though he has been named the Jana Sena Guntur Lok Sabha candidate, he is campaigning for the party.
Guntur West is the native place of BJP AP president Kanna Lakshminarayana, and the party candidate hopes that this will fetch votes.
