Bucking the State-wide trend, the Telugu Desam Party won four Assembly seats in Prakasam district, thanks to “dissidence” in the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
The dissidents spoiled the electoral prospects of the YSRCP in Chirala, Parchur and Kondepi, with the TDP nominees Karnam Balarama Krishnamurthy, Y. Sambasiva Rao and Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy bagging the respective seats with varying margins, while sitting Addanki MLA Gottipatti Ravikumar scored a hat-trick.
Yadam Balaji, who unsuccessfully contested against Amanchi Krishnamohan on YSRCP ticket in 2014, worked in favour of Mr. Krishnamurthy reportedly upset with YSRCP supremo Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy admitting the latter into the party on the eve of the elections and giving him the party ticket as well. As a result, Mr. Krishnamurthy won the seat by a margin of 17,400 votes.
Similarly, the party Parchur Assembly constituency in-charge Ravi Ramanatham Babu did not take lightly to the YSRCP chief giving the party ticket to former Minister Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, who also joined the party on the poll eve along with the latter’s son Hitesh Chenchuram. Mr. Sambasiva Rao retained the seat with a lesser margin of 1,647 votes compared to a margin of 10,775 in 2014.
So was erstwhile YSRCP in-charge in Kondepi Varikoti Ashok Babu, who did not reconcile with the party admitting M. Venkaiah, a political greenhorn, just before elections, and worked against the interests of the party. As a result, Dr. Swamy, a sitting TDP MLA retained the seat by a reduced margin of 1,024 votes as against 5,440 in 2014.
Party affiliation does not mean much for invincible Ravikumar, who retained the Addanki seat this time as TDP nominee defeating YSRCP candidate B.Ch. Garataiah by a margin of over 12,900 votes. He had won the seat as YSRCP candidate in 2014 and as Congress nominee in 2009.