TIRUPATI: The ruling YSR Congress is working hard to ensure a thumping majority for its candidate in the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election.
Buoyed by the success for the party in the Gram Panchayat and municipal elections, the ruling party is confident that it will retain the Tirupati seat and thereby achieve a hat-trick.
As part of its poll strategy, the party has deployed seven state ministers, one for each of the seven Assembly constituencies under the LS segment. They were: Tirupati — Perni Nani; Srikalahasti — Gautam Reddy; Satyavedu — Kodali Nani; Sullurpeta — K. Kannababu; Venkatagiri — Balineni Srinivasa Reddy; Sarvepalli — Adimulapu Suresh; and Gudur — Anil Kumar Yadav.
Besides, the party had positioned one legislator for each mandal and two legislators for each assembly constituency.
Under the guidance of minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, who were given overall responsibilities, all these ministers and local and other segment MLAs are intensively campaigning for party candidate Dr M. Gurumoorthy.
As per YSRC sources, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed the in-charges and leaders to work hard and ensure the result created such a huge impact that the whole country would stand up and take note. Jagan told the leaders to ensure that the polling should cross 85 per cent mark. This would ensure the party candidate’s victory margin would be more than four to five lakh votes.
There are about 16.5 lakh voters. In the 2019 LS elections, around 13.2 lakh people voted. The YSRC had secured 7.22 lakh votes and the Telugu Desam 4.94 lakh. Around 25,781 votes were polled for NOTA, while the Congress and the BJP secured 24,039 and 16,125 votes.
With 80 per cent polling registered in the 2019 election, the YSRC had a majority of 2.28 lakh votes.
Meanwhile, the YSRC candidate along with deputy CM K. Narayana Swamy, ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Perni Nani, whip K. Srinivas and MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy campaigned in the streets here on Friday. Stating that development is the prime agenda of the Jagan-led government, they sought support from the public to continue the welfare schemes and appealed to them to cast their vote for the YSRC candidate.
