YSRC nominee in indirect fight with her father-in-law in Kuppam poll fray
Visakhapatnam: The Kurupam constituency is mainly covered by forests -- and the Merangi Fort holds significant political influence in the region. Kurupam's MLA is Pamula Pushpa Srivani, representing the YSRC and contesting polls for the third time. She functioned as deputy chief minister and tribal welfare minister in Jagan Reddy's cabinet.
Pushpa Srivani is the princess of Merangi Fort and the daughter-in-law of the Satrucharla family. Her rival this time is Toiaka Jagadishwari, the wife of a school teacher who leads an ordinary life.
However, Jagadishwari's strength lies in the support she gets from Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju, father-in-law of Pushpa Srivani. In effect, the fight is between the daughter-in-law and her father-in-law.
TD leader Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju's younger brother Chandrasekhar Raju played a significant role in the political landscape of Kurupam. He joined YSRC and stood by Jagan Reddy after quitting the Congress and doing an Odarpu Yatra.
In the 2014 elections, no one from the Satrucharla family was given a chance to contest. On the advice of YSRC chief Jagan Reddy, Chandrasekhar Raju's son Parikshit Raju married Pushpa Srivani, and she was given a ticket. She defeated Janardhan Dattaraj, who is Vijayaramaraju's nephew.
After these developments, Merangi Fort saw significant changes. Chandrasekhar Raju, father of Pushpa Srivani’s husband, turned against her. However, with Jaganmohan Reddy's blessings, she got the Kurupam MLA ticket again in 2019 and won the elections.
Following the 2019 elections, the political landscape of the Kurupam constituency underwent significant changes. The influential Merangi Fort saw a shift in power as Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju fell ill, and his nephew, TD leader Janardhan Dattaraj, passed away due to illness. His younger brother Chandrasekhar Raju also died.
These events have led to the rise of Pushpa Srivani, who is now contesting for the third time. However, she is facing opposition from Vijaya Rama Raju, who supports TD candidate Toiaka Jagadishwari.
