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Updated – April 04, 2024 at 10:12 PM.
Family has represented Ongole LS seat six out of the 17 times
YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and others joined the TDP in the presence of the party president N. Chandrababu Naidu, in Vijayawada on Saturday.
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ARRANGEMENT
The fielding of Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy by the Telugu Desam Party for the Ongole Lok Sabha Constituency in Andhra Pradesh has sparked a debate in political circles. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that Sreenivasulu Reddy has been given the ticket by the TDP, a constituent of the NDA, as a thanksgiving gift by the BJP.
They alleged that his son Raghava Reddy was named in the Delhi liquor case and was let off after he helped the ruling party frame Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“The Enforcement Directorate arrested Raghav Reddy on February 10 and Kejriwal’s name was absent in the first two statements. When the deal was done with the BJP (implicating Kejriwal), his name appeared in the third statement,” the AAP alleged.
In October 2023, Raghava Reddy, a key accused in the case, was allowed by a court to turn approver. He was later released on bail.
“And, now the truth is that Raghav’s father Sreenivasulu Reddy got the Lok Sabha ticket from the BJP’s ally TDP,” AAP said.
From liquor to LS
The Maguntas, who are into liquor manufacturing business for over five decades, have a good track record at the hustings from the Constituency. While Sreenivasulu Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha four times (1998, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019), his late brother Subbarami Reddy (1991) and his wife Parvathamma (1996) once each represented the Constituency in the Lok Sabha.
The family lost only twice in the last 33 years, indicating that they hold the sway on the constituency.
“In the last 17 elections to the Lok Sabha, the Maguntas won six times. Giving Sreenivasulu Reddy a ticket is as important for the TDP as it is for him. He knows the Constituency better than any other candidate from any party. I don’t see any scope for quid pro quo here,” a political analyst from Andhra Pradesh said.
High-Stakes Gamble
The Maguntas, who traditionally belonged to the Congress all through, defected to the YSRCP in 2019 after losing to YV Subba Reddy (a close relative of YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy) in 2014.
He, however, decided to join the TDP a few weeks ago after Jagan refused to retain him as a party candidate for the upcoming elections. He decided to quit the party and join the TDP after YSRCP announced the candidature of Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, a close aide of Jagan Mohan Reddy, for the Constituency.
Sreenivasulu Reddy, however, wanted to get a ticket for his son Raghav. Accordingly, the TDP reportedly tried to take the opinion of the voters through tele-surveys. They, however, dropped the idea after the liquor case developments became a political issue nationally.
The locals, however, see no shadow of Raghav’s role in the liquor case on the poll outcome. “For us, the liquor case developments, including the arrest and Raghav turning an approver are of no consequence. The local issues, the respective strengths of the candidates and political parties do matter,” Nirmal Akkaraju, a political analyst at Ongole told businessline.
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