YSR Cong wave swamps TDP leaders’ kin
Amaravati (AP), May 25 (PTI) Several Telugu Desam Party
leaders’ scions bit the dust in the general election in Andhra
Pradesh, swamped by the YSR Congress wave.
Beginning with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidus son, Nara
Lokesh, the gen-next of the TDP had to eat humble pie,
signalling trouble for the 37-year-old outfit.
A few, however, beat the tide and emerged victorious.
Naidus son Lokesh fought his maiden electoral battle
from Mangalagiri assembly segment in the capital region
Amaravati but lost to sitting YSR Congress MLA Alla
Ramakrishna Reddy by a margin of over 5,000 votes.
Incidentally, Lokesh, a member of the AP Legislative
Council, chose not to quit his post to contest the assembly
election, and has four more years to go.
Lokesh’s relative Mathukumilli Bharat lost the
Visakhapatnam parliamentary seat by a slender margin of over
4,414 votes.
Lokesh and Bharats father-in-law, film actor Nandamuri
Balakrishna, however, managed to retain his Hindupur Assembly
seat.
Kidari Sravan Kumar, an IAS aspirant-turned-politician
and son of late Kidari Sarveswara Rao, lost from Araku valley.
Sarveswara Rao, who was sitting MLA from the segment,
was gunned down by Maoists in September last year following
which Sravan Kumar was inducted into the Cabinet as Health and
Tribal Welfare Minister in November.
As per the Constitution, he should have got elected to
the Legislature within six months but the election process
overshot that period.
He had to quit the ministers post on May 10 since he
could not fulfill the constitutional obligation.
However, the children of former Union Minister
K Yerran Naidu emerged victorious.
Yerran Naidus son Rammohan Naidu, contesting his
second election, retained the Srikakulam Lok Sabha seat by a
narrow margin of 6,653 votes.
His sister A Bhavani, in her first contest, romped
home by an impressive margin of over 30,000 votes in
Rajamahendravaram (City) Assembly constituency.
Deputy Chief Minister K E Krishna Murthy opted out of
the assembly contest to make way for his son Shyam Kumar in
Pattikonda but the latter lost.
Even Murthys nephew K E Pratap lost in Dhone.
Minister Paritala Sunitha preferred to field her son
Sriram from Raptadu after the party refused to give tickets to
both.
He lost his first electoral fight.
P Aditi Vijayalakshmi, former Union Minister P Ashok
Gajapathi Rajus daughter, made her electoral debut in their
home turf Vizianagaram but failed to succeed.
Raju himself lost in Vizianagaram Lok Sabha
constituency.
The TDP denied ticket to sitting Kurnool MLA
S V Mohan Reddy, who defected three years ago from YSR
Congress, and chose Rajya Sabha member T G Venkateshs son
Bharat, going by ‘favourable surveys.’
That didnt help.
Former minister Kimidi Mrunalinis son Nagarjuna stood
no chance against YSR Congress’ senior leader Botsa
Satyanarayana in Cheepurupalli.
Sitting MLAs G S S Sivaji and Jaleel Khan (who
defected from YSR Congress) fielded their daughters, Sireesha
and Shabana Musarat Khatoon, in Palasa and Vijayawada West
segments respectively while another legislator J C Prabhakar
Reddy made way for his son Asmith Reddy in Tadipatri.
The TDP lost these three seats.
Gali Bhanu Prakash and Bojjala Sudhir Reddy, sons of
two former ministers Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu and Bojjala
Gopala Krishna Reddy respectively, too ended up as losers in
Nagari and Srikalahasti.
Same was the case with Kagita Krishna Prasad who
wanted to succeed his father Venkata Rao in Pedana.
Sitting MP J C Diwakar Reddy, who never lost an
election, brought in his son Pawan Reddy but the latter only
tasted defeat in Anantapuramu Lok Sabha segment.
Another MP and film actor M Murali Mohan made way for
his daughter-in-law Roopa in Rajamahendravaram but success
eluded her.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Ganti Mohana Chandra
Balayogis son contested an election for the first time from
Amalapuram Lok Sabha constituency that his late father
represented earlier.
He was unsuccessful. PTI DBV BN
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