Race for Vizag LS seat heats up in the BJP, Kavuri joins the race

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, April 7, 2014:  With reports of Vizag loksabha seat having gone to the saffron party under BJP-TD poll pact, competition among various aspirants within the party,has heated up.  

The race is said to be mainly among Party AP unit, chief, Kambhampati Haribabu, former union minister, D Purandeswari, who defected to the BJP from Congress last month and Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, another union minister who resigned and is now waiting to join BJP too.

It is reliably learnt that, TD has agreed to spare, Vizag, Araku, Narasapuram, Rajampeta and Tirupaty loksabha seats to BJP in Andhra Pradesh. The BJP also wanted Vijayawada seat to accommodate, either former union minister D Purandeswari or yet to be inducted veteran, Kavuri Sambasiva Rao. But, the last ditch efforts by the BJP to secure Vijayawada seat didn’t yield any positive outcome.

Though BJP’s state unit chief Kambhampati Haribabu was the obvious choice for the party ticket, there are reports that former local MP, Purandeswari or Kavuri Sambasiva Rao are also being considered, in case if YSRC chief Jaganmohan Reddy, decides to field his sister, Sharmila, who seems to be the strong contender, from Vizag.

Jagan is yet to decide on Vizag candidate. He had already announced candidates of 4 out of the 5 loksabha seats in three districts of north Andhra barring Vizag. During a meeting with her supporters to inform them about her decision to join, BJP, last month, Purandeswari, openly expressed her desire to contest from Vizag again on the BJP ticket if the party leadership gave her a chance.  

However, the former union minister made it clear that, she is joining the party unconditionally and would contest from wherever, party, wants her to. Purandeswari, who debuted into politics in 2004, had won from Narasaraopeta and in 2009 contested from Vizag and won the seat.  Now, all eyes are on Purandeswari,  and Kavuri, whether they would be asked by the BJP bosses to contest from Vizag to face, YSRC star campaigner, Sharmila or will be fielded from the remaining 4 seats spared by TD.

Kavuri Sambasiva Rao is also a close relative of local TD strong man and former Vizag MP, MVVS Murthy.

Interestingly, BJP doesn’t have any prominent face or cadre base in Vizag Agency in which Araku parliamentary constituency is part. Congress had already announced sitting MP and union tribal affairs minister, V Kishore Chandra Deo, as its candidate from Araku