Several BC leaders of Telugu Desam Party on Friday asked the TDP high command to allocate Vizianagaram seat to sitting MLA Meesala Geeta as she had a clean image and developed the constituency with ₹500 crore fund in the last five years.
The leaders – Mantri Venkata Ramana, Majji Apparao, Rongali Ramarao and others – organised a meeting in a hotel in support of Ms.Geeta.
Later, speaking to the media, they said that the allocation of the seat to any other leader would lead to the defeat of the party in Vizianagaram.
Vizianagaram BC Hakkula Sadhana Samiti leader Gorle Suribabu said the TDP had already given top priority to ‘Raja’s families’ in the district and Vizianagaram ticket should go to a BC leader.
Former Union Minister P.Ashok Gajapathi Raju’s daughter Aditi Gajapathi Raju is reportedly trying for the ticket.
Mr.Ashok, who is likely to contest for the Vizianagaram MP seat again, has reportedly urged the party to allocate the MLA seat to his daughter, according to sources.
Although, many other leaders are in the fray, Ms.Geeta is facing tough competition from the Pusapati family which has represented or contested the seat for almost four decades till 2014 when Ms.Geeta was given the ticket.
Ms.Geeta, who is upset with the delay in declaration of her candidature, has reportedly told the high command that it was unfair to allocate both MP and MLA seat to the same family in Vizianagaram, which has more BC population.
‘ZP chief upset’
Meanwhile, ZP chairperson Sobha Swati Rani is also not happy with the denial of both Araku Parliament seat and Saluru Assembly seat to her. Her supporters say that allocation of Araku ticket to former MP Kishore Chandra Deo was unfair since he had recently joined the TDP.
Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu, who is visiting Vizianagaram on Sunday, is expected to take a decision on the allocation of the tickets.