Congress candidate for Vemulawada Assembly constituency Adi Srinivas keeps on telling voters “give me one chance. I have lost the elections thrice but the father-son combine have ruled here for 40 years.”
The father is veteran Communist Party of India leader Chennamaneni Rajeswara Rao who switched over to the Telugu Desam towards the end of his over six decades long political career and son Ch. Ramesh who is facing a court case over his citizenship status.
“They are Kuberas (Lords of wealth) while I am Kuchela (a friend of Lord Krishna who lived in poverty). They are zamindars while I am poor. If I lose, I lose as an individual. If I win, it is the victory of all of you,” he declares.
Mr. Srinivas also harped on the inaccessibility of his arch political rival Mr. Ramesh as the latter was mostly away in Germany. “I am giving you word that I will be with you all the times,” he told public from an open top jeep as he canvassed in Chandurthi village. He recalled that he was with them at their good and bad times.
Straight fight
The contest at Vemulawada has boiled down to Mr. Srinivas and Mr. Ramesh though 13 others are also in fray. The citizenship status of Mr. Ramesh which had come under cloud was highlighted by all his rivals. Katti Bhoomaiah, a toddy tapper at Marrigadda, argued that vote for Mr. Ramesh was waste as he would go away to Germany.
Mr. Ramesh who taught agriculture economics at a university in Germany had applied for Indian citizenship on March 31, 2008, after renouncing the same in 1993. He made the application with a view to contest elections in 2009 as his aged father was to retire from active politics that year. It was Mr. Srinivas who challenged the citizenship of Mr. Ramesh when it was conferred on him on February 23, 2009. The High Court here declared his election in 2009 on Telugu Desam ticket null and void but it was stayed by the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Ministry of Home Affairs had ruled that he was not an Indian citizen at the time of his contesting elections and that he held German citizenship.