(Image source from: english.tupaki.com)
YSRCP suffers a Major Setback:- The 2019 assembly elections brought attention to Mangalagiri, Gajuwaka, and Bhimavaram, as these constituencies captured the interest of political analysts and the people of Telugu States. Nara Lokesh, the then Minister and potential successor to Chandra Babu Naidu in leading the TDP, along with Pawan Kalyan, the Janasena party supremo, contested in these areas but suffered defeat at the hands of the YSRCP.
Alla Ramakrishna Reddy denied Lokesh his victory, while Grandhi Srinivas and Tippala Nagireddy defeated Pawan Kalyan in Bhimavaram and Gajuwaka respectively. It is widely known that Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party went to great lengths to ensure the defeat of both Pawan and Lokesh in order to undermine their political careers. They succeeded in doing so.
Now, after five years, the situation has changed in these three constituencies for the ruling YSRCP. The party faced a significant setback when Alla Ramakrishna Reddy not only resigned from his assembly seat but also from the party itself. Following his resignation, many local leaders in Mangalagiri also followed suit without delay.
The party member decided to leave the party after discovering that he would not be selected as a candidate in the upcoming elections. The unexpected resignations of prominent leaders in both constituencies will greatly hinder the YSRCP, as the 2024 elections are just four months away. Although the party leadership swiftly appointed new leaders to oversee these areas and a few others, it will be extremely challenging for the YSRCP to retain these constituencies in the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, the situation in Bhimavaram does not bode well for the YSRCP, as the current MLA is facing strong opposition from the voters due to various reasons, alongside significant anti-incumbency. The party members believe that if Pawan Kalyan were to contest from this constituency again in the next elections, Grandhi Srinivas would suffer a major defeat. In the 2019 elections, Pawan came in second place in Bhimavaram.
With the TDP and JSP forming an alliance for the 2024 elections, political experts anticipate an easy victory for both Nara Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan if they were to run again in these constituencies.
