Ganta likely to contest from Bheemili

Known for changing constituency every election, the Visakha North sitting MLA, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, is reportedly lobbying for the Bheemili seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh (AP).

With the Visakhapatnam North constituency being allotted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a part of seat-sharing amid the BJP-JSP-TDP alliance, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is in a fix over finalising the constituency for Srinivasa Rao. While the party high command wants him to contest from Cheepurupalli – where the Education Minister, Botcha Satyanarayana, is the contesting candidate from the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) – Srinivasa Rao is averse to the idea, as he is of the view that the seat is not a safe bet to gamble. Srinivasa Rao, who also served as the Minister of Human Resources Development for Andhra Pradesh, insists on contesting for the Bheemili constituency where the TDP is said to be in a strong position.

However, the TDP is in a dilemma as the party has promised the seat to Karrothu Bangarraju, the party in-charge for the Nellimarla constituency. As the Nellimarla seat has been allotted to JSP, the TDP reportedly assured Bangarraju of being assigned the Bheemili seat. Against this backdrop, the issue has become a hard nut to crack for the TDP and the seat has been kept pending.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that Srinivasa Rao’s lobbying for the Bheemili seat is paying off.

Hailing from Prakasam district, Srinivasa Rao entered politics by joining the TDP in 1999, following which he tested the political waters by contesting for the Anakapalle Lok Sabha seat, emerging victorious.

In the next elections (2004), he moved to the Chodavaram constituency and stepped into the Assembly for the first time. Later, he switched loyalties to the Praja Rajyam Party with an eye on the Anakapalle seat and won it in the 2009 elections. Playing safe, Srinivasa Rao, who never faced defeat in his political career, returned to the TDP and was elected in the Bheemili constituency in 2014, and won in the Visakhapatnam North Assembly constituency in 2019.

Ganta Srinivasa Rao, a shrewd politician, always plays cards close to his chest and may reveal the constituency he will be contesting in at the right time. It can be expected that he may end up contesting in the Bheemili constituency during the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections in AP.

This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu

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