TIRUPATI: With the YSR Congress going all-out to capture power in Kuppam municipality, Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu personally stepped in on Monday and made last-minute efforts to save his name and fame in his home turf.
Polling for the maiden election for Kuppam Municipality was held on Monday amid allegations of large-scale bogus voting by the rival parties - YSR Congress and Telugu Desam.
The recent parishad and gram panchayat elections in Kuppam constituency had given a big jolt to the TDP while the YSRC bagged all the 4 ZPTCs and a majority of the MPTCs. YSRC supporters also won about 80 per cent of the sarpanch posts.
Against this backdrop, the Kuppam Municipal election has become a test for the TDP to show its strength and send positive signals to the voters for the next general elections.
Panchayat Raj minister P Ramachandra Reddy, his son and MP Mithun Reddy, Chittoor MP Reddeppa and MLA Madhusudhan Reddy have personally monitored the YSRC electioneering. This made the TDP circles worry the situation was slipping out of their hands.
There were allegations of the YSRC shifting hundreds of voters from neighbouring districts to Kuppam for bogus voting. It was also alleged that the police barred entry of several TDP leaders from outside of Kuppam into the municipal limits during the polling.
The TDP chief is learnt to have felt that the local party leaders in Kuppam lacked the right strategies and strength to tackle the YSRC’s political manipulations. Hence, stepped in and held a teleconference with his party leaders in Kuppam to take stock of the polling situation.
Sources said that the TDP chief has given instructions to the local party leaders on how to counter the alleged bogus voting and rigging by the YSRC. Initially, there were reports Naidu was coming to Kuppam town to personally monitor the polling situation. However, he stayed at the party headquarters and virtually monitored the polling situation and coordinated with the local party leaders on the ground.
