Tirupati: Cross voting helps Gurumoorthy beat odds to emerge victorious

Tirupati: Amidst a severe anti-YSRCP wave, Dr M Gurumoorthy, the incumbent Tirupati MP and YSRCP candidate, emerged victorious with a significantly reduced majority, offering some solace to him and party cadres. His opponent, former Tirupati MP and sitting Gudur MLA Dr V Varaprasada Rao, now BJP candidate, gave a tough fight, but cross-voting played a pivotal role in Gurumoorthy’s narrow victory.

In Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency, TDP alliance candidates secured substantial majorities in their respective assembly segments. Notably, Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy received 16,288 votes in Sarvepalli, Pasam Sunil Kumar got 21,192 votes in Gudur, Nelavala Vijayasree secured 29,115 votes in Sullurpet, Kurugondla Ramakrishna garnered 16,294 votes in Venkatagiri, Koneti Adimulam had 3,739 votes majority in Satyavedu, Bojjala Sudheer Reddy achieved a majority of 43,304 votes in Srikalahasti and Jana Sena candidate Arani Srinivasulu won by a 61,956 vote majority in Tirupati over YSRCP candidates.

Despite these successes, BJP MP candidate Varaprasada Rao lost to YSRCP’s Gurumoorthy by 14,569 votes in Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency. Cross-voting in favour of Gurumoorthy was evident, as he received more votes in every segment than YSRCP MLA candidates, while Varaprasad’s votes were fewer than those of TDP-JSP candidates in all constituencies. Among YSRCP and BJP candidates, Varaprasad led only in Tirupati and Srikalahasti, with leads of 46,057 and 13,107 votes respectively.

Gurumoorthy initially won his MP seat in a2021 by-election following the death of then YSRCP MP Balli Durgaprasada Rao, securing a majority of 2,71,592 votes against TDP candidate Panabaka Lakshmi. A physiotherapist by profession, Gurumoorthy is known for his down-to-earth personality, soft-spoken nature and cordial approach, which quickly earned him fame in political arena. Despite a slow start due to Covid-19 pandemic, he effectively pursued various projects for the constituency, particularly Tirupati and sought a second term to complete his unfinished agenda.

Meanwhile, Varaprasad, a former civil servant, faced dissidence from both public and alliance parties. His prior roles as Tirupati MP and Gudur MLA and lack of clean image became negative factors. Additionally, his abrupt switch from YSRCP to BJP, receiving the party ticket almost immediately, did not sit well with the cadres, ultimately shattering his hopes of becoming an MP again by a narrow margin.