Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s decision to appoint new in-charges for constituencies ahead of the state Assembly polls has not been received well by a section of the leaders of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). The in-charges are expected to be made the candidates from the respective constituencies in the upcoming elections. Opposing this, YSRCP MLA MS Babu alleged that the Chief Minister was sidelining Scheduled Caste constituencies. Babu, who is the MLA of the SC-reserved constituency Puthalapattu, alleged that he was denied a ticket due to a ‘baseless survey’ by I-PAC, the political consultancy firm campaigning for YSRCP.
Following his appointment of 11 in-charges to Assembly constituencies in December 2023, CM Jagan also appointed 27 coordinators for Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies on Tuesday, January 2. Three SC-reserved constituencies that saw key changes in the newly released list of Assembly and Parliament constituency coordinators are Rajam, Payakaraopeta and P Gannavaram.
On Tuesday, Babu demanded that in case of objections to the way the sidelined legislators governed their constituencies, they should be made aware of the same. “YSRCP legislators from other castes who are likely to lose are not dismissed. Instead, Dalit legislators alone are sidelined. Though Jagan Mohan Reddy has been claiming for the last five years that he is committed to the welfare of the Dalits, there is, in fact, no justice for them in the party,” he said.
Senior YSRCP leader Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said, “The decision was made based on the assessment of the reviews of the performance and was not a whim of the Chief Minister. There is nothing to hide. If someone who worked with us is affected by our decisions, we will try to hold discussions with them and try to work as a team. Our goal is to win with a better majority and serve the people of Andhra Pradesh again.”
In the first list released in December, Prathipadu (SC) Assembly constituency, Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita was replaced by Balasani Kiran Kumar as the party in-charge. Sucharita was then allocated to Tadikonda (SC) constituency, replacing sitting MLA Undavalli Sridevi, who was suspended by the party and later defected to the Telugu Desam Party.
Yerragondapalem Assembly constituency MLA Adimulapu Suresh was moved to the Kondepi (SC) constituency. Vemuru (SC) constituency MLA Merugu Nagarjuna was shifted from Vemuru (SC) and appointed in-charge of Santhanuthalapadu (SC) constituency, where TJR Sudhakar Babu is the sitting MLA.
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The YSRCP’s January 2 list included tickets to the sons of former minister Perni Venkatramaiah (Nani), MLAs B Karunakar Reddy, Chevireddy Bhaskara Reddy, and Shaik Mustafa, and Rajya Sabha MP Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose.
Nani’s son Perni Krishna Murthy has been made in-charge of Machilipatnam constituency. Bhumana Abhinay Reddy, the son of B Karunakar Reddy has been named in-charge of Tirupathi constituency. Subhash Chandra Bose’s son Suryaprakash will handle Ramachandrapuram constituency in East Godavari district, while Chandragiri constituency will go to Chevireddy Mohit Reddy, the son of Chevireddy Bhaskara Reddy.
The Hindupur Lok Sabha constituency in-charge will be Joladarashi Shanta. A former BJP MP from Bellary, Joladarashi Shanta, along with former Karnataka minister Sriramulu, had joined the YSRCP on January 2.
The Hindupur constituency is currently represented by YSRCP leader Gorantla Madhav, whose alleged nude video call with an unidentified woman went viral in August 2022. Madhav had said at the time that the video was a morphed one made by his political rivals.
Former Minister Vellampalli Srinivas Rao, who is representing Vijayawada (West) will be in-charge of Vijayawada (Central), which is currently represented by Malladi Vishnu. Sheikh Asif will be new in-charge of Vijayawada (West) Assembly constituency.
CM YS Jagan also appointed Malasala Bharat Kumar, Kambala Jogulu, and Vipparthi Venugopal as in-charges for Anakapalli, Payakaraopeta (SC) and P Gannavaram (SC) constituencies. Sitting MLA Mustafa’s daughter Noori Fatima was named as candidate from Guntur East, while BS Maqbool Basha was named candidate from Kadiri in Anantapur.
Rajahmundry MP Margani Bharat will now be in-charge of Rajahmundry City Assembly constituency, while Information and Public Relations Minister Chelluboina Venugopala Krishna will be in-charge of Rajahmundry Rural assembly constituency. Tale Rajesh will be Rajam (SC) Assembly constituency in-charge.
Former Minister Malagundla Sankaranarayana, who is currently representing Penukonda Assembly constituency, has been made in-charge of Anantapur Lok Sabha constituency, which is currently being held by YSRCP MP Talari Rangaiah.
Kottagulli Bhagyalakshmi will be in-charge of Araku ST Lok Sabha constituency, which is currently represented by MP Goddeti Madhavi. The charge for Araku (ST) Assembly constituency has been, in turn, given to Madhavi. Kakinada Lok Sabha MP Vanga Geeta will be in-charge of Pithapuram Assembly constituency.