Date:15/09/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/09/15/stories/2005091508510300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Left takes on TDP in 3 divisions

G.V. Ramana Rao

Congress rebels add to the contest in 54th, 55th divisions

Rival parties organise roadshows to impress people
CPI, TDP locked in direct contest in 53rd division; the latter fields new face

Triangular fight in 54th and 55th divisions with Congress rebels too joining the fray

BREAK FOR DRINKS: Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal (second from left), CPI(M) district secretary, V.Umamaheswara Rao (extreme right) and city Congress president P.Somi Naidu (extreme left) having soda during their election campaign at Ramakrishnapu ram in Vijayawada on Wednesday. The 53rd division CPI candidate, Duraga Bhavani, CPI city secretary K.Sekhar Babu and others are also seen. PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR

VIJAYAWADA: Candidates of the Left parties are fighting a battle royale with those of the Telugu Desam Party in Ajitsingh Nagar, one of the city's largest colonies. The colony is bifurcated into municipal divisions 53, 54 and 55. The Congress has allocated all three divisions to the Left as part of the electoral alliance. Congress rebels that are in the fray in 54th and 55th divisions are adding fizz to the contest.

Roadshows

Ajitsingh Nagar was a beehive of activity on Wednesday with different parties taking out roadshows to impress the electorate. The Telugu Desam leaders -- Gadde Ramamohan, Nagulmeera and Varla Ramaiah -- campaigned for their candidates -- Alavarthi Suvarna Ratna (53rd division), Gogula Ramana Rao (54th divisions) and Yelavarthi Srikant (55th divisions) -- with much fanfare.

Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, CPI city secretary K. Sekhar Babu and CPI (M) district secretary V.Umamaheswara Rao campaigned for the Left party candidates -- Penmetsa Durgabhavani (53rd division), Thammina Durga (54th division) and Ch. Babu Rao (55th division)-- in a road show through the main streets of Ajitsinghnagar.

CPI candidate Penmetsa Durgabhavani and active member of the Mahila Samakya is pitted against TDP candidate Alavarthi Suvarna Ratna, a new face, in a straight fight in the 53rd division. The presence of a BJP candidate is being seen as a mere statistic, more than anything else.

The contest is, however, going to be triangular in the 54th division that has been culled out of the old 23rd and 25th divisions that were strongholds of the CPI(M) and the Congress respectively. Congress rebel Chinta Simhachalam (Chinna) is a follower of Aaluri Rajagopala Reddy, the erstwhile Congress corporator. CPI candidate Thammina Durga is dependent entirely on the CPI(M) cadres to help her win and the TDP candidate Ramana Rao, a medical shop-owner, is a new face.

CPI(M) city secretary and candidate of the party Ch. Babu Rao has everything going for him in the 55th division. Congress rebel Ummadi Venkata Rao is in the fray as an independent and the TDP candidate Yelamarti Srikant is known to all as the owner of the locality bar.

Door-to-door campaign

Though the Congress and Left parties took out a roadshow in his division, Mr. Babu Rao spent most of the day going door-to-door canvassing. He listed the developments that had been brought about in the division through the efforts of his party. "We are not a party that comes to you only at the time of elections. We are with you all the time," he said.