TDP, YSRCP battle for Nellore mayor post as campaign intensifies

NDA mayor candidate P. Roop Kumar Yadav and MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy campaigning for the municipal elections in Nellore City.

The TDP and YSRCP are locked in a no-holds-barred contest for the mayor’s seat in Nellore Municipal Corporation (NMC). The 72 divisions of the NMC are spread equally between the Nellore City constituency— represented by Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Ponguru Narayana—and the Nellore Rural constituency—represented by three-time MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy.

The TDP has pitted former Deputy Mayor Poluboyina Roop Kumar Yadav, a prominent BC leader, against the YSRCP’s strongman Anam Vijayakumar Reddy, former Nellore Rural constituency in-charge. Hailing from an influential political family, Mr. Reddy’s spouse Anam Arunamma is the outgoing chairperson of Nellore Zilla Parishat.

While the TDP is heavily focusing on the NDA government’s ‘performance mantra,’ the YSRCP is relying on the anti-incumbency factor, which the party claimed began to appear within three years of the alliance taking reins of the State.

The TDP leaders are highlighting the works carried out for the constituency by Mr. Narayana and Mr. Sridhar Reddy. While Mr. Narayana allocated substantial funds for civic-infrastructure development in his constituency, Mr. Sridhar Reddy had over 300 works sanctioned for his rural constituency and had them inaugurated on a single day.

Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy is also campaigning for Poluboyina Roop Kumar Yadav due to the high stakes involved in the civic body elections.

The TDP leaders are leaving no stone unturned to reach out to voters, with a deluge of promises. Compared to the YSRCP, the ruling party is reportedly comfortably placed, having already won eight divisions unanimously, according to analysts.

Meanwhile, YSRCP district president Kakani Govardhan Reddy and MLC Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy have embarked on a vigorous campaign across the divisions, seeking support for Mr. Vijayakumar Reddy.