The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is gaining support in Chittoor’s Punganur, where local issues like dairy farmer distress and the Avulapalli project are key election concerns.
Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, formerly with Congress and now with YSRCP, shifted to Punganur in 2009 and has won three consecutive elections since then. Peddireddy’s power increased in the Jagan Mohan Reddy cabinet after the YSRCP’s win in 2019, but the 2024 elections present a tough challenge with TDP candidate contesting. Local issues like dairy farmer struggles and the displacement of Avulapalli project evacuees are crucial in this election.
TDP’s candidate, Challa Ramachandra Reddy, believes that Peddireddy’s past strategy of using violence for electoral gain won’t work this time, as people want peace and an end to the dominance of the Peddireddy family.
