Kiran's 'Kite' to fly in MPTC, ZP polls

Vijayawada: Former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's new party is all set to contest the municipal, ZP, Mandal Parishad elections, besides those to the Assembly and Lok Sabha. The party is working to get a common symbol of 'kite'.

The party, scheduled for launch in Rajahmundry on March 12, will ask its candidates file papers for the municipal elections on March 13, the last day.

As of now, it decided to field candidates for the 59 divisions in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), besides all wards in Tiruvur, Nandigama and Jaggaiahpet municipalities, which form part of the Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency.

Former Vijayawada MP and a key player in the party, Lagadapati Rajagopal, has completed the first exercise of identifying the candidates for Tiruvur, Jaggaiahpet, Nandigama, Mylavaram, Vijayawada East, Central and West Assembly segments.

They have been authorised to name the candidates for Tiruvur, Nandigama and Jaggaiahpet wards, while Rajagopal is selecting candidates for the VMC divisions.

According to highly placed sources, senior Congress leader and former City Congress president Pyla Somi Naidu, will join the party. He had two rounds of talks with Rajagopal.

He was believed to have been promised the party city chief's post and ticket to contest the Vijayawada West Assembly seat, the sources said. Satisfied with the promise, Sominaidu held a secret meeting with supporters here.

He finalised the candidates for the VMC divisions. Several Congress City activists, who have been loyal to Rajagopal for the past 10 years, are joining the party.

Some upset with the former MP's initial decision to quit politics, following the State's bifurcation, are upbeat as he is set to stage a comeback with the new party.

Vijayawada East legislator Yalamanchili Ravi is contemplating to switch over to the party. He held discussions with Rajagopal on his chance of getting party ticket for the Assembly elections.

Ravi's candidature in the Congress is doubtful, as former Minister Devineni Rajasekhar Nehru, who lost the 2009 elections, is firm on contesting this time. Nehru has emerged strong in the party with several leaders quitting.

Having lost the hope of getting Congress ticket, Ravi is preparing his cadre to jump into the new party. More names are likely to come up once Kiran Reddy announces the new party in Rajahmundry.