In battle for Guntur LS seat, holder TDP faces keen contest from ruling YSRCP

New Delhi: The Guntur Lok Sabha constituency, which is going to polls in the fifth phase on MAY 13, comprises seven Vidhan Sabha or assembly segments.
Arguably the most prominent among all the 24 Lok Sabha segments in Andhra Pradesh, Guntur is currently represented in the Lok Sabha by Jayadev Galla of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The TDP leader secured a marginal victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, bagging 5,87,918 votes, against 5,83,713 secured by Modugula Venugopala Reddy, his nearest candidate from the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP).
The TDP candidate scraped home by just 4205 votes.
For the ongoing elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, TDP's Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar has filed his nomination from the prestigious Guntur constituency. He is pitted against BSP's Tenali Prakash, the NCP's Syed. Saida, NP's Emani. Chandrasekhar Rao, PPI's Ambatichalamaiah, YSRCP's Kilari Venkata Rosaiah, TRSP's Pathan Khaja (basha), TD's Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, JBP's Samudrala Chinna Kotaiah, JJSP's Sikhakolli Hema Gowri Shankar, and JSS's Umar Bhasha Shaik.
The Congress had a hold over Guntur since it came to be recognised as a separate Lok Sabha constituency in 1952. However, as the decades rolled and the political sands shifted, the political influence of the TDP and the ruling YSRCP in the region grew.
Significantly, the TDP, which currently holds Guntur, has replaced sitting MP Galla with Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, who is also the wealthiest candidate in the state.
YSRCP's Kilari Venkata Rosaiah, the incumbent MLA from the Ponnur assembly constituency and the son-in-law of former Union minister Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, is standing against TDP Chandra Sekhar in the battle for Guntur.
Rosaiah's political career started with his joining the Praja Rajyam Party led by superstar Chiranjeevi. He later shifted to the YSRCP and recorded a handsome win from Ponnur in the 2019 general elections against five-time TDP MLA Dhulipalla Narendra.
Notably, the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh will be held simultaneously on May 13.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the YSRCP secured a thumping majority in Andhra with 151 seats, while the TDP's tally was reduced to just 23 seats.
In the Lok Sabha elections the same year, the YSRCP raked in the lion's share of the poll sweepstakes, winning 22 seats, while the TDP could only bag three seats.