Jagan, Naidu lock horns: Rivals to begin campaigns from Rayalaseema on March 27

Amaravati: The election campaign in Andhra Pradesh is getting heated up ahead of the Assembly polls in May 2024.

The AP elections will see a tough fight between the ruling YSRCP’s YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP’s Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

Both top leaders are heading to the election campaign on the same day from the Rayalaseema region. Both Jagan and Naidu will kick start their poll campaign on March 27 from the Idupulapaya and Palamaner Assembly constituencies respectively.

For this year’s elections, the YSRCP is the prime target for all the political parties in the state, including TDP, Jana Sena, the BJP, Congress and the Left parties.

Chosen candidates against heavy hitters

The total list of the 175 MLA candidates has been announced by the parties.

YS Jagan will take on former TDP MLC M Ravindranath Reddy aka ‘BTech’ Ravi in Pulivendula, while K Bharath will contest against TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Kuppam. Murugudu Lavanya will contest against TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh in Mangalagiri and Vanga Geetha will take on Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan in Pithapuram.

Jagan’s schedule

Chief Minister YS Jagan will begin the bus yatra ‘Memu Antha Siddham’ as part of the election campaign for the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

He will flag off 21 days of bus yatra from March 27 from Idupulapaya in Kadapa district to Icchaapuram. During his election campaign, he will hold public meetings and interact with the locals. On March 28, Jagan will hold a meeting in Nandyala/Allagadda. On March 29, his yatra will enter the Kurnool Parliamentary Constituency.

Naidu’s schedule

Chandrababu Naidu will kick off the campaign with a series of meetings and roadshows under the banner of ‘Praja Galam’ from Palamaner on March 27 and end on March 31.

He will participate in the campaigning in Hindupur and Anantapur Parliamentary constituencies on March 28, Kurnool and Nandyal on March 29, Kadapa and Tirupati Parliamentary constituencies on March 30 and Ongole and Nellore Parliamentary constituencies on March 31.

During his campaign, Naidu will engage with the people and explain the party’s vision and agenda for the upcoming elections.

Earlier, on March 25 and 26, Naidu made a two-day visit to Kuppam Assembly constituency. He is scheduled to hold interactive sessions with the women and youth wings of the party and conduct a door-to-door campaign.

Impact of alliance

The elections in the state turned increasingly interesting with the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance announcing its fight against the YSRCP.

While the BJP will contest six Lok Sabha (LS) and 10 Legislative Assembly (LA) seats, Jana Sena will contest in two LS and 21 LA seats, while TDP will field candidates in 17 Parliamentary and 144 Assembly constituencies. On the other side, Congress has allied with CPI and CPM. Several other small parties are also in the fray.