Guntur: TDP eager to make a sweep - TeluguPeople.com News

Guntur: The Telugu Desam Party in Guntur district is pinning hopes on the NDA's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi's wave to improve its performance in this election. Narendra Modi is scheduled to address an election meeting in Guntur on May 1 in which the TDP
chief N Chandrababu Naidu too would participate.

Though the TDP had tried for the Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan to be present in this meeting, the actor is understood to have expressed his inability to attend the meeting.

The party had won six Assembly segments out of 17 in 2009 elections in the district and wants to improve the tally this time cashing in on the positive image built around Modi-Naidu combine. The party which had won the Narasaraopet Lok Sabha constituency and four out of seven Assembly segments is firm on retaining the seat and strength.

The TDP had made several experiments here this time. It had dropped the sitting MP M Venugopala Reddy and fielded senior Congress leader
Rayapati Sambasiva Rao for the Lok Sabha seat.

The party had sent Venugopala Reddy to the Guntur West Assembly segment. Similarly, the party had shifted its senior leader Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao from Narasaraopet Assembly seat to the neighbouring Sattenapalli segment and allocated the Narasaraopet segment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The party had to face severe resistance from the local leadership against the alliance. Having given one Assembly seat to the BJP in alliance, the party now looks towards the ally to help in retaining the Lok Sabha seat besides the four Assembly seats that it holds now.

The TD also wants the BJP to win the Narasaraopet seat while it lays its hands on wresting the Sattenapalli Assembly seat for Dr Sivaprasada
Rao, thus making it a total TD-BJP bastion. The party is confident of retaining Pedakurapadu, Chilakaluripet and Vinukonda seats besides adding a few more.

At Guntur too, the party had made several changes including bringing a brand new candidate from Chittoor's Congress family. Galla Jayadev, an industrialist from Chittoor district is fielded from this prestigious seat and the TDP is confident as its rival and Guntur's strong family, Rayapati, is now in TD and was moved to Narasaraopet.

The TDP counts on Rayapati's strength in Guntur and his absence as well for the party's victory this time. Jayadev himself being a successful industrialist and the TD-BJP focusing on the industrial growth in the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh, the TD leadership is looking towards Modi to promise on the industrial growth in this region to help wresting the Lok Sabha seat.

The TD had won the Ponnuru Assembly seat in 2009 elections leaving the remaining six segments to the Congress. This time, the party sees a
big win at Tadikonda for its candidate T Sravan Kumar as the sitting MLA and former minister Dokka Manikya Varaprasad is out of the race.

Besides retaining the Ponnuru segment, the party is working hard to wrest Guntur West, Mangalagiri and Prathipadu segments riding on the Modi-Naidu wave.

In the Bapatla Lok Sabha constituency too, the TD is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the Parliament seat besides winning Vemuru, Repalle and Bapatla Assembly segments. The TD had won the Vemuru SC constituency in the 2009 elections. The party is mobilising the rank and file from all the 17 Assembly constituencies of the district for the proposed Modi's meeting.