Though Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy said to be succeeded in preventing BJP from giving Narsapur seat to the sitting MP K Raghuramakrishnam Raju, who is known as bitter critic of his administration, Raju declared that he will contest in the polls at any cost.
As the TDP allocated Narsapur seat to BJP, Raju felt to contest as BJP candidate from here. However, BJP picked up its state secretary Srinivas Varma as its candidate, keeping away Raghuramakrishnam Raju from the contest.
However, both TDP and Raju are said to be exploring the possibilities of fielding him from some other constituency. In this regard, Vizianagaram constituency is felt to be a suitable one for him, with a sizable number of Kshetriya voters here.
Originally, TDP allocated Vizianagaram to BJP, but the party insisted for Rajampet in Rayalaseema for former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and left this seat. Now TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is yet to find a candidate to contest from here.
Sitting MP Bellana Chandrasekhar of YSRCP, is contesting again from Vizianagaram. Former Union Minister Ashok Gajapathiraju had previously won as an MP from Vizianagaram. First, the name of former AP TDP president Kala Venkata Rao from Vizianagaram is under consideration. His own constituency, Etcherla Assembly, has been allotted to the BJP.
With this, Chandrababu has already suggested that Kala Venkat Rao contest for Parliament. But Kala Venkat Rao is not showing interest to contest in the Lok Sabha polls. Former union minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju is also said to be not keen on contesting in these polls, after his daughter has been announced as TDP candidate for the Vizianagaram assembly seat.
In the prevailing scenario, TDP circles felt that Raghuramakrishnam Raju will be a suitable candidate for the party to contest from here. He alleged that CM Jagan prevented him from getting a chance to contest again from Narsapur seat.
However, Raju said that even if he does not get a seat on behalf of BJP, he will definitely be in the public field in the general elections. He said that he will stay in politics and teach Jagan a proper lesson.
