Raju Garu And His Vizianagaram Politics

TDP boss N. Chandrababu Naidu is planning to field former Union minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju, who also has a royal lineage of the Vijayanagara empire, as the MP from Vizianagaram constituency.

He is of the idea that if Raju is in the contest as the MP, then he will have an influence on all the Assembly segments and that the constituencies will fall in the TDP kitty.

In the 2014 elections, this strategy worked but in 2019, it went for a toss during the Jagan wave. With the people’s pulse shifting towards the TDP favourably, Chandrababu Naidu is considering it again. However, Raju is not inclined to go to Delhi this time. He is planning to contest for the MLA seat. He is also thinking that it Naidu does not give him the MP ticket, then he should give it to his daughter Aditi Gajapati Raju.

At present, Aditi is the TDP in-charge for Vizianagaram Assembly constituency. There is talk that Naidu is planning to send the senior leader to Delhi and give the MLA ticket to a BC candidate. As the population of Toorpu Kapus is of sizeable quantity, Naidu is thinking that the TDP would be able to benefit only if one among the community is given a ticket.

Meesala Geeta who contested from the constituency in 2014 is ready to take a plunge into the competition this time too. It is learnt that she had already met Naidu twice and urged him to allot the seat to her.

On the other hand, Ganta Srinivasa Rao has also become active in the TDP. Geeta, who belongs to Ganta’s community, is confident that she would get the ticket. She has also become active in the media by making sharp criticism against the YCP. However, she and Ashok Gajapati Raju have differences with each other. There is talk that Gajapati Raju is asking for the MLA seat to her daughter and if denied, he wants the ticket to be given to some other person whom he suggests.

Meesala Geeta even set up her own office and carried out the TDP activities after differing with Ashok Gajapati Raju. She is not happy with the senior leader as he wants to pitch his daughter against her and even Raju is being very harsh with her. Being a septuagenarian, the 2024 elections is likely to be the last poll for him and he wants to instate his daughter in the political scene, before his exit.

Gajapati Raju is of the opinion that this is the last chance and he would not be able to get a chance to strengthen his family’s position in politics. Hence, he is insisting that his daughter should be given some ticket from Vizianagaram.
As he has close relations with Naidu, it has to be seen if Gajapati Raju would be able to succeed in his mission of bagging two tickets for his family like in 2019 or if he would field his daughter as an MP and send her to Delhi. At the same time, it is being said that Naidu will not be able to deny Gajapati Raju’s request.

With Ganta’s batch also becoming active, there is stiff competition for the TDP tickets in Vizianagaram.