TD Ticket Tussle Hots Up Ahead of Nellore Civic Polls
A senior TD leader said the party could not ignore those who had joined from the YSRC but should also ensure that loyalists received their due share of tickets
NELLORE: With elections to the Nellore Municipal Corporation (NMC) drawing closer, a ticket tussle is brewing within the ruling Telugu Desam (TD), with party loyalists worried that leaders who switched over from the YSRC could get preference.
TD leaders brought around 20 YSRC corporators into the party after coming to power. Their likely bid for tickets has unsettled aspirants who remained with the TD during its years in opposition.
The TD leadership increased the number of NMC divisions from 54 to 72 through delimitation, apparently to accommodate competing aspirants. The YSRC has challenged the move in court, while TD leaders remain confident of its validity, citing court verdicts upholding delimitation in Visakhapatnam and other civic bodies.
The political equation has changed sharply since the previous NMC election, when the YSRC won all 54 divisions, leaving the TD without a single seat. Then YSRC Nellore City and Rural MLAs P. Anil Kumar Yadav and Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy played a key role in the party’s strategy, with the YSRC securing victories in several divisions without a contest.
Kotamreddy has since joined the TD and is now working with minister P. Narayana to chalk out a strategy to maximise the party’s tally in the corporation.
A senior TD leader said the party could not ignore those who had joined from the YSRC but should also ensure that loyalists received their due share of tickets. Any attempt to sideline those who had stood by the party through difficult years could trigger resentment and hurt its electoral prospects, the leader cautioned.
With the civic contest taking shape, the TD’s ticket negotiations are emerging as a key challenge ahead of the polls.