Nellore: YSR Congress leaders have been trying to gather the support of dissidents from the Telugu Desam for their nominees in Nellore and City assembly constituencies.
The leaders held discussions with some of the corporators from TD as well as some city-level leaders having sizeable vote bank. They have been wooing Chamber of Commerce state functionary Sannapareddy Penchal Reddy, who was a key leader in the Anam group in the past.
TD leaders, meanwhile, have also been trying to secure support of former YSRC leader Anam Venkataramana Reddy who contested from Nellore Rural in 2009 on PRP ticket and lost narrowly to his uncle Anam Vivekananda Reddy.
TD also wooed former Nellore civic body member Mekala Narendra of YSRC into the party fold after offering him the membership in the Government General Hospital development committee.
Sannapareddy Penchal Reddy was corporator from the 27th Division in Nellore civic body in the past and was closely identified with Anam brothers Vivekananda Reddy and Ramanarayana Reddy then. Later he started maintaining a distance with the Anam group and started to be identified with TD senior leader Adala Prabhakar Reddy after TD came to power in 2014.
Penchal Reddy has been maintaining close ties with his followers in Nellore Rural Assembly segment as well as with Arya Vysya community in Nellore City segment though he is not in active politics.
He is unhappy with TD because the party failed to offer him any position or even invite him to a party meeting with Arya Vysya community scheduled for Sunday.
Sensing the mood of Penchal Reddy, YSRC Nellore City legislator Dr Anilkumar Yadav invited him into the party fold promising him a party post, sources in YSRC said while adding that Penchal Reddy and his brother Subba Reddy will join the party soon.
Speculations are also rife over corporator Pigilam Praveena of 26th Division is returning to thr YSRC fold. She migrated to TD with Mayor SK Abdul Aziz after winning on thr YSRC ticket.
With elections approaching fast, both YSRC and TD leaders have been working overtime to engineer defections from the other side for their advantage.
