Tirupati: The Chandragiri Assembly constituency in this district experienced a show of strength as candidates of the YSRC and Telugu Desam took out large rallies ahead of their nomination-filing process on Thursday.
Thousands of party supporters thronged the streets as YSRC's Chevireddy Mohith Reddy and TD's Pulivarthi Nani led separate rallies through the city before submitting their nominations.
Mohith Reddy, son of two-time Chandragiri MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, was accompanied by senior YSRC leaders including TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, tourism minister R.K. Roja and sitting MLA Bhaskar Reddy.
For Nani, facing Mohith Reddy, the rally saw participation from TD's Chittoor LS candidate Daggumalla Prasad Rao and TD leader Badi Sudha Yadav among others.
The high-decibel campaign underscores the prestige the battle holds for the two parties in this constituency, which has been a YSRC stronghold. While Mohith Reddy is making his electoral debut, his father Bhaskar Reddy had defeated Nani with a record margin of 41,755 votes in 2019.
Chandragiri holds great significance for the TD too. This is party president Chandrababu Naidu’s home turf. His native Naravaripalle village is located here. However, the party has attempted to make inroads into the Congress and YSRC support centres.
Naidu had won this seat on a Congress ticket in 1978 but shifted base to Kuppam after losing the polls there in 1983. Since then, Chandragiri has largely remained a Congress bastion until the YSRC captured the seat.
As nominations closed, both Mohith Reddy and Nani exuded confidence about their win. While the YSRC banked on the party's welfare agenda and the Jagan Reddy government’s performance, Nani anchored his hopes on ‘anti-incumbency’ factor and the promise of TD's "super six" sops to win votes.
Political observers view the Chandragiri battle as a litmus test for the Chevireddy family, which is keen on continuing its hold over the constituency. For the TD, wresting it from the YSRC would be a symbolic victory in Naidu's home turf.
