Vijayawada: Devineni Uma likely to be shifted from Mylavaram

Vijayawada : Confusion prevailed in Mylavaram TDP on the candidate for Assembly elections. TDP Mylavaram former MLA and senior leader Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao is unlikely to be fielded in 2024 elections. The TDP leadership has so far not declared the candidate for the constituency. Devineni Uma may face competition from the sitting MLA Vasantha Krishna Prasad who is expected to join TDP and may be fielded from Mylavaram seat.

TDP is reportedly considering the name of Krishna Prasad because of his local contacts and possibility of winning the polls. The party is of the view that Krishna Prasad is better candidate compared to Devineni Uma.

Krishna Prasad is not happy with the YSRCP leadership and made bitter comments against Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy two weeks ago on the sand and liquor policies in the state. He has been keeping away from the YSRCP activities in recent times.

The ruling party has appointed S Tirumala Yadav as the in-charge of the Mylavaram Assembly constituency about three weeks ago. Since then, sitting MLA Krishna Prasad is expressing his resentment against the party and directly attacked the policies of Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Mylavaram is the bastion for Kamma leaders for over six decades. Many Kamma leaders from Congress, TDP and YSRCP were elected from the constituency.

There is a tendency of fielding Kamma leaders by mainstream political parties for a long time in the constituency. TDP had fielded Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao two times in 2014 and 2019 after bifurcation of the state. YSRCP too gave ticket to Kamma leader Vasantha Krishna Prasad in 2019.

Speculation is rife that Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao may be shifted to Penamaluru Assembly constituency.

Penamaluru is another Assembly constituency dominated by Kamma voters. Kamma candidate Bode Prasad was elected from Penamaluru in 2014 and Kolsu Parthasarathy, a BC leader, was elected in 2019.

The TDP is considering to field two senior Kamma leaders from two seats, which have sizeable Kamma voters. They are Vasantha Krishna Prasad from Mylavaram and Devineni Uma from Penamaluru.

Intense discussions are taking place in the erstwhile Krishna district and in TDP on contesting candidates in two seats. But the names can be changed depending on the party strategy and options available to the leadership. Both TDP and YSRCP are carefully choosing the candidates because every seat is crucial in the polls.