Stalemate continues on Palamaner YSRCP candidate

Tirupati: The ruling YSRCP has not yet decided on the candidature of sitting MLA N Venkate Gowda in Palamaner Assembly constituency which gives enough scope for speculation that present ZP chairman Govindappa Srinivasulu is also having chances to get the ticket.

Venkate Gowda was brought in by the YSRCP in 2019 elections and he emerged victorious defeating former minister and senior TDP leader N Amaranatha Reddy by a margin of 31,616 votes.

The win of a novice created sensation at that time as he could defeat the sitting minister by a comfortable margin. Gowda comes from an agricultural family and started his career as an ordinary party worker in 2014 elections and worked for Amaranatha Reddy who contested that elections as YSRCP candidate and registered a victory. Subsequently, Amaranatha Reddy left that party to join TDP. Then Venkate Gowda got the chance and became the constituency in-charge of YSRCP and secured the party ticket too in 2019.

Since then, TDP’s Amaranatha Reddy also became active and started working hard in the constituency to get elected for the fifth time to the Assembly.

The ruling party appears to be in a dilemma over continuing its candidate in this election too. Alternatively, it was learnt that the party has been considering a few other names also to win the seat for the third time in a row.

In this backdrop, a lot of guesswork is going on in the constituency about possible alternatives for Venkate Gowda.

Though names like RV Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhumireddy Mohan Reddy among others are doing rounds locally, ZP chairman Srinivasulu aka Vasu appears to be a frontrunner if at all the party wants to go ahead with a new candidate.

Vasu was elected as ZPTC member from V Kota and became the ZP chairman. His family contacts with Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy may have weighed in his favour at that time. Further, he belongs to the BC community and is said to be softspoken which also will add more weight in his favour.

Giving more scope to the speculations, Vasu met CM Jagan a couple of days back at his camp office in Tadepalli. Interestingly, after that Rajampet MP P V Midhun Reddy told a section of media that Venkate Gowda will get another chance fuelling more confusion.

This suspense will continue till the ruling party officially announces its candidate from Palamaner in the next few days.