Vizag LS candidates descend on S Kota

Vizianagaram : Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha candidates are focusing more on Srungavarapukota (S Kota) Assembly segments than on other segments. Though S Kota is in Vizianagaram district geographically, it is one of the segments of Vizag Lok Sabha seat.

Vizag North, East, West, South, Bheemili, Gajuwaka and S Kota are part of Vizag Lok Sabha constituency. Except S Kota, the remaining six are considered as urban segments and only S Kota is the rural constituency. Political parties considered this rural constituency provides them good opportunity to get enough votes to tilt the Lok Sabha result. Hence, the rush of high profile candidates fighting Vizag Lok Sabha polls to S Kota.

M Sribharat, president of Gitam University, is contesting as TDP while Botcha Jhansi is the YSRCP candidate in Visakha LS. Both are economically and politically influential families. Grandfather of Sribharat M V V S Murty was MP from Vizag between 1991-1996 and 1999-2004 and Botcha Satyanarayana, husband of Jhansi, has wide contacts in Vizag and a prominent leader in north Andhra region.

Both the candidates are eyeing the voters of S Kota and are putting in serious efforts to get more votes from here. In fact, Satyanarayana has more grip over S Kota as he is holding minister post from this district and has good contacts with mandal level leaders in the segment.

On the other hand, Sribharat is also visiting S Kota along with K Lalitha Kumari, TDP MLA candidate here and wooing the voters to cast their vote for the cycle. Jhansi, who is prominent figure in S Kota, is visiting the villages with K Srinivasa Rao, the MLA candidate of YSRCP. Both parties are making all efforts and spending money and time to grab most of the votes from the rural areas of the S Kota constituency.

Even the MLA candidates Srinivas and Lalitha Kumari are also sweating it out to win the elections. Lalitha Kumari was the MLA here between 2009-19 while Srinivas won here first time in 2019 and is working to retain his seat. Both are facing the pressure from their MP candidates to ensure more number of votes from here to them so that they can clinch the seat.