TD’s alliance blues

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, April 5, 2014:  Even if BJP gets Vizag loksabha seat under the poll pact with TD, it will be tough going for the saffron party candidate. Dashing the national party’s hope to add one seat to its MP tally, sources in the TD, said that the party cadre has decided not to extend support to the BJP candidate.

It is reliably learnt that the TD cadre has decided not just show the back, but may also not hesitate to work against the BJP candidate.    

With not much support base, the saffron party has no other choice than to depend on TD for its candidate’s win. BJP candidate has never won the Vizag loksabha seat until now, except, Vizag 1 constituency in 1999 and city mayor chair, a couple of times earlier.

TD- BJP poll pact talks in Andhra Pradesh are said to have reached a deadlock over Vizag and Vijayawada Lok Sabha seats, which two parties are not ready to spare.

Both TD and BJP are banking on the many youngsters and urban voters coming under Vizag parliament constituency having S Kota, Vizag East, West, North, South, Gajuwaka and Bheemili assembly segments. TD local leaders are said to be irked with the BJP’s demand for Vizag seat. In TD, former minister, Ganta Srinivasa Rao and IT firm  Kenexa’s former director, Aneeta Sakuru are in the race for the Lok Sabha ticket.

Aneeta, an MBA graduate from, Kellog School of Management, Illinois in US, has been nurturing the hopes of contesting from Vizag Lok Sabha seat and seen preparing ground over two years, by actively participating and organizing many party related activities and programmes.

On the other hand, though former minister Ganta Srinivas Rao, who rejoined TD recently, is interested in contesting from any assembly constituency, TD chief Naidu is said to be interested in fielding Rao either from Anakapalle or Vizag Lok Sabha seat.

BJP, which wanted the Vizag seat for it’s AP unit chief, Kambhampati Haribabu, is banking on the ‘Modi wave’ as majority coming under Vizag Lok Sabha segment are urban voters.

 Meanwhile, hundreds of TD activists especially, women, staged a dharna at the party office in Ramnagar on Saturday, demanding TD chief Naidu not to allot Vizag loksabha seat to BJP.

They vowed to defeat the BJP candidate if their demand is not considered. “Vizag Lok Sabha seat should be given to TD candidate only. It will be good if it’s given to a woman candidate. We are not ready to accept a BJP candidate,” said Lakshmi, a TD activist.