Jagan 2.0: Devineni Avinash to contest from Vijayawada East; 40 YSRCP MLAs to lose ticket

Vijayawada: YSRCP is likely to field Devineni Avinash from the Vijayawada East constituency in the next assembly election. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy dropped the hint during an interaction with party activists from the Vijayawada East assembly constituency.

Earlier, Jagan warned 40 sitting MLAs that they may not be given tickets for the next elections because of their poor performance. Sitting MLAs like Anam Ramanarayana Reddy from Venkatagiri in the Nellore district and Vasantha Krishna Prasad from Mylavaram in the NTR district are among those who are likely to be dropped.

Who is Devineni Avinash?

Avinash, currently in charge of Vijayawada East (Assembly constituency), joined YSR Congress Party in 2019 after resigning from Telugu Desam Party. He got good support from people particularly youth when he contested from the Gudivada Assembly constituency against Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao in 2019. Avinash is said to be one of the youngest leaders in Andhra Pradesh who has carried forward the legacy of the Devineni family.

The 34-year-old began his political journey as a president of the United Students Organization (USO) established by his father, Devineni Nehru, in Vijayawada. His father served as a minister in the cabinet of N. T. Rama Rao. He was elected five times from the Kankipadu Mandal constituency. Though Avinash lost the 2019 election, his presence was felt by everyone. He joined YSR Congress Party in November 2019.

Gadapa Gadapaku meeting

During the meeting held at the camp office, Jagan emphasized the importance of the Gadapa Gadapaku Prabhuthvam programme. He highlighted the welfare schemes implemented by the YSRC government and insisted on receiving feedback. "To further strengthen the Party at the grass root level, we are appointing secretariat-wise conveners and house chiefs for every 50 to 70 houses, and they will be involved in party activities," said CM.

Referring to the Vijayawada East constituency, Jagan said: "14 out of 21 wards were won by the Party. Even when there is an opposition MLA, we have been able to win more wards". He urged them to prepare for the polls by taking forward the good work done by the government during the past three-and-a-half years.

CM said that a male and female cadre would carry the party message besides providing publicity material. "No matter how small a problem anyone has, it should be solved, and welfare should be reached to all the eligible. Persons who missed out on receiving the benefits for various reasons will be covered twice a year, he said, adding that previous governments did not take the revolutionary step," he added.