YSRCP candidate wins Pellakur ZPTC seat from Nellore Central Prison

Kamireddy Satyanarayana Reddy, a YSRCP candidate contesting for the Pellakur ZPTC seat, created a flutter in Tirupati district by winning the election with a majority of 1,708 votes while lodged in Nellore Central Prison.

Reddy, who is in judicial remand in connection with a murder case, was not prevented from filing his nomination for the ZPTC seat from his native Pellakur mandal on behalf of the YSRCP.

His wife, K. Prabhavathamma, campaigned on his behalf, touring villages in the mandal and appealing to voters to support him to prove his innocence. She alleged that her husband had been falsely implicated in the murder case due to political rivalry.

After the Returning Officer declared him elected, YSRCP cadres distributed sweets and burst crackers to celebrate his victory.

Tirupati MP M. Gurumoorthy described the victory as a ‘fitting reply’ from voters to what he termed the NDA regime’s political vendetta.

Adding a new twist to the episode, a letter purportedly written by Reddy from prison, appealing to voters to support him, went viral on social media. A digital copy of the handwritten letter, which also listed his election promises, was widely circulated in the mandal ahead of the polling.

K. Janardhan Reddy, a resident of Sullurpeta, lodged a complaint with the State Election Commissioner (SEC) and the District Election Officer (Collector), questioning how a candidate could use a prison petition paper issued to him, bearing the seal, date (October 17, 2026) and signature of the issuing officer, as campaign material.

He also sought clarification on whether such an appeal was permissible under the Model Code of Conduct and prison rules.