For the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), experimenting with new faces and contesting different leaders from different constituencies in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts resulted in handsome political gains. Kalisetti Appala Naidu, TDP MP candidate who was elected by a margin of more than two lakhs votes had actually sought the Etcherla Assembly segment. But Etcherla was assigned to BJP as part of an alliance deal, thus making him an MP candidate.
It was located in Srikakulam district but it falls under Vizianagaram Lok Sabha constituency. Mr. Appala Naidu who previously worked at north Andhra TDP internal training centre ensured his victory by getting familiar with all local leaders just before general elections.
Another experiment done by the TDP was its candidate Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao from Cheepurupalli which also succeeded. He won over YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) nominee and Minister for Education Botcha Satyanarayana with a comfortable majority of 10,000 votes.
Indeed, he had also wanted to represent Etcherla since he had been winning from here for several terms. Since his brother Ganapati Rao’s son Mr. Nagarjuna has been looking after this constituency for four years now, he never wanted to run from there again. However, it ended up being in favor of TDP at last.
Instead of former MLA KA Naidu, entrepreneur and TDP leader Kondapalli Srinivas was given a ticket in Gajapathinagaram. The latter outwitted YSRCP nominee Botcha Appalanarasayya brother to Minister for Education Botcha Satyanarayana.
But real experimentation took place in Srikakulam Assembly where Gondu Shankar contested against the YSRCP candidate and Minister for Revenue Dharmana Prasada Rao. The party preferred Mr. Shankar to the former MLA Gunda Lakshmi Devi since he was an excellent leader of Srikakulam Sarpanches’ Association. He defeated Mr. Prasada Rao, who has been most successful in the district so far.
The party also had positive outcome in Pathapatnam; Mamidi Govinda Rao was put up as a candidate instead of former MLA Kalamata Venkataramana who later became head of the Srikakulam Parliamentary party wing. Good margin of victory over sitting MLA Reddi Shanti has been scored by Mr. Govinda Rao. The party also fielded industrialist Bonela Vijaya Chandra instead of Bobbili Chiranjeevulu in Parvatipuram. The latter emerged victorious after defeating YSRCP candidate and sitting MLA Alajangi Jogarao.
