Kuppam assembly constituency is synonymous with Nara Chandrababu Naidu. It takes a lot to fight the political giant of Andhra Pradesh in his home turf in the electoral battle. But a former IAS officer has shown his willingness to fight the three-time chief minister... from a hospital bed.
An unusual contest is being witnessed in Kuppam where both the sitting MLA and his main opponent are missing in action. Forget campaigning, Naidu, the TDP supremo, did not visit Kuppam to even file his nomination. Naidu has been touring every nook and corner of Andhra Pradesh as part of the election campaign, but is yet to hold a public meeting in his own constituency, which he has been winning since the past three decades. In the 2014 assembly election, he won by around 45,000 votes.
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate, K. Chandramouli, who is a native of Chittoor district, worked as Kadapa collector before his retirement. Chandramouli has been striving towards strengthening the party since 2014. But, he developed health issues just around the time when election dates were announced last month. Chandramouli has since been admitted in a hospital in Hyderabad. Like Naidu, he also did not personally file his nomination. His son and wife filed the nomination on his behalf.
Chandramouli has released a video for the voters in his constituency. Through the video message, he thanks people for their support. Chandramouli said he will be back on his feet soon and expressed confidence that he will win the elections. He is also yet to visit the constituency after election season kicked in.
On the ground, political activity is dull due to the absence of the main leaders. While the second-rung leadership of the TDP in the constituency is working hard for a bigger victory margin for Naidu, his wife, Bhuvaneshwari, is personally getting involved in party activities. She held a teleconference meeting with Kuppam TDP leaders recently.
On the other hand, in the YSRCP, it is Rajamouli’s son, Bharat, who is trying to fill the void. The youngster, who was not politically active until now, quit his job after his father was hospitalised. He is actively campaigning and acting as a bridge between party workers and his father.
