Pradeep Vennelakanti Chittoor

TeluguDesam Party (TDP) leadership is facing a challenging task in choosing the next Chittoor Zilla Parishad chairperson, with four influential party aspirants throwing their weight behind their respective candidates. The competition has intensified after ZPTC election results, with three contenders camping in Amaravati to muster support.

The State Election Commission had initially scheduled elections for Mandal Parishad presidents on November 11 and ZP chairperson on November 12. However, it revised the schedule on Tuesday, postponing MPP elections to November 19 and ZP chairperson election to November 20. The revised schedule is likely to delay the announcement of the party’s candidate.

Chittoor ZP chairperson post was reserved for an unreserved woman category through a government gazette notification issued on October 13. Four aspirants entered the race by fielding their family members in ZPTC elections.

NP Jayaprakash from Bangarupalem fielded his wife Suchitra, while Eswar Naidu, also from the same mandal, fielded his wife RM Mamatha Sri from Gudipala. Suchitra’s nomination from Bangarupalem left Eswar Naidu with no scope to field his candidate from the same mandal. Chittoor MLA Gurajala Jagan Mohan helped facilitate Mamatha Sri’s candidature from Gudipala.

Chittibabu Naidu from Palasamudram fielded his daughter, Dr B Jahnavi Babu, from same mandal. Meanwhile, Dr M Tejomurthy, chairman of Vijayam Educational Institutions from Puthalapattu, entered the race by fielding his wife Sailaja from Puthalapattu.

Suchitra and Sailaja were elected unanimously from Bangarupalem and Puthalapattu, respectively. Mamatha Sri and Jahnavi contested from Gudipala and Palasamudram and won with majorities of 4,821 and 2,737 votes, respectively.

Of the four aspirants, Eswar Naidu, Jayaprakash and Chittibabu Naidu have been staying in Amaravati since the ZPTC results were announced. They are meeting senior party leaders to seek support for their respective candidates. Tejomurthy, meanwhile, has remained in Chittoor, expressing confidence that he has received an assurance from the party leadership.

The NDA alliance has a clear majority in the Chittoor Zilla Parishad, having won 23 of the 27 ZPTC seats. The TDP secured 22 seats and Jana Sena one, while the YSR Congress won the remaining four seats. All four aspirants belong to the same community and have strong financial backgrounds, making the selection a difficult task for the party leadership. Supporters of each contender are also claiming that their respective candidates have received assurances from senior party leaders. TDP leadership is yet to indicate its preference, leaving the contest wide open.