Telugu Desam Party wrests Kadapa by repeating 1999 election results
The HinduIt took 25 years for the Telugu Desam Party to post a resounding victory in Kadapa, considered the erstwhile bastion of the Indian National Congress and later the YSR Congress Party. Sharmila Reddy as a contender to YSR legacy, the alleged letdown of sweetlime farmers in Kadapa’s horticultural belt, the failed insurance scheme that offered no respite to farmers during crop failure also dented the ruling party’s prospects. District President R. Sreenivasa Reddy had a tough time convincing second and third rung leaders to stay in the party fold, despite mounting pressure in the form of police cases. TDP’s former MLC Mareddy Ravindranath Reddy alias ‘B.Tech’ Ravi not only became the first to establish the TDP office in Pulivendula constituency in decades, but also gave a tough time to YSRCP by enrolling more members and taking his campaign to a new high.