AP Polls: Singanamala residents protest YSRCP ticket to Veeranjaneyulu

Anantapur: Expressing their dissent against Singanamala YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA candidate M Veeranjaneyulu, scores of people took to the streets on Tuesday and appealed to party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to recall his decision.

This comes at a time when the YSRCP is gearing up for its toughest battle since its inception.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-Jana Sena Party (JSP) coming together, reports suggest that the battle has become tougher for the ruling party. Because protests are unravelling in the Rayalaseema region, which for long has been the bastion of the YS family, the impact is expected to be far beyond the seat in question.

Speaking to the media, senior politician and YSRCP leader Satyanarayana Reddy said, “We are with YS Jagan and want the party to secure the Singanamala. Having said that, we are not ready to support the candidate that has been declared. There is a section of the party in Singanamala which has misused the trust bestowed by the CM. We are not ready to support this candidate and want the high command to replace the same with a stronger candidate.”

Sources said that Singanamala is an SC-reserved constituency. YS Jagan has given a chance to a ‘tipper lorry driver’ Veeranjaneyalu, a native of Bandameedapalli village in Anantapur district. He pursued an MA and has been an active follower of former chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy and YS Jagan. In the 2019 Assembly elections, Jonnalagadda Padmavathi was elected as an MLA on behalf of the YSRCP.

Padmavathi defeated TDP candidate Bandaru Sravani Sree. This time, YS Jagan denied her a ticket and nominated Veeranjaneyalu as an MLA candidate from the Singanamala Assembly constituency. Veeranjaneyulu’s candidature was recommended by Sambasiva Reddy, husband of Jonnalagadda Padmavathi, who had been entrusted with the task of recommending a candidate in place of his wife.