Tough battle on the cards in Gannavaram

• In 2019, Vamsi contesting on the TDP ticket defeated the then YSRCP candidate Venkata Rao by a thin margin of 990 votes
• Subsequently, Venkata Rao left the YSRCP and joined the TDP while Vamsi shifted his loyalty to the YSRCP

VIJAYAWADA: Keen contest is expected in Gannavaram Assembly constituency of Krishna district as the TDP and YSRCP candidates intensified election campaign.

Two times MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi is contesting for the third time and has been eying hat-trick of wins. Vamsi was elected on TDP ticket two times in 2014 and 2019. He is contesting third time on the YSRCP ticket in the upcoming elections slated to be held on May 13.

His rival the TDP leader Yarlagadda Venkata Rao is contesting for the second time in a row. Yarlagadda Venkata Rao contested on YSRCP ticket in 2019 and now is contesting as the TDP candidate.

Each of the two leaders has moved to a new party and they are trying their luck. Both leaders have decided to file nomination papers on April 25. The officials are trying to avoid confrontation of two parties in Gannavaram and have been trying to give different timings to the two parties so that they can conduct rallies peacefully without any untoward incident. The supporters of the two leaders are actively taking part in the campaign.

Venkata Rao quit the YSRCP and joined the TDP as he felt unhappy with the policies of the YSRCP and CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Gannavaram Assembly constituency is one of the prominent constituencies in the State with many Kamma leaders getting elected from the constituency. Dasari Balavardhana Rao, Gadde Rammohan and others were elected earlier from Gannavaram.

In 2019, Vallabhaneni Vamsi contesting on behalf of the TDP defeated the then YSRCP candidate Yarlagadda Venkata Rao by margin of 990 votes in 2019. Vamsi got 1,04,704 votes and Yarlagadda Venkata Rao secured 1,03,714 votes. Vamsi defeated YSRCP leader Dutta Ramachandra Rao in 2014 by a margin of 9,548 votes. Vamsi got 99,163 votes and Ramachandra Rao got 89,615 votes. Vamsi has a large number of supporters in the constituency for a long time and he is canvassing vigorously to get elected for the third time. He was elected on behalf of TDP twice and he is now looking for another victory while contesting on the YSRCP ticket.

His opponent Yarlagadda Venkata Rao is also a very influential leader in Gannavaram constituency. Both leaders belong to Kamma caste, which is a dominant caste in Gannavaram constituency. The two leaders are campaigning in nine villages under Vijayawada rural mandal, Unguturu, Gannavaram and Bapulapadu mandals.

Nine villages in Vijayawada rural mandal play key role in the deciding the fate of candidates as nearly 90,000 voters are in these villages. Gannavaram constituency has both urban and rural voters and the two leaders are trying to impress the voters with their speeches and assurances. The voters will give their verdict on May 13.