YSRCP to field Mudragada’s son against Pawan in Pithapuram?

Jana Sena party chief Pawan Kalyan, who has been eagerly waiting to step inside the Legislative Assembly after the 2024 general election win, is all set to contest the upcoming elections from Pithapuram Assembly segment that has more Kapu voters. If the hints going round the media are to be believed, Pawan is likely to announce his name in the second list of the candidates in a few days.
It is a do-or-die situation for Pawan Kalyan. The JSP chief floated the party around 10 years ago and has been struggling to win his own seat. In 2014, JSP did not contest in the elections but supported the TDP alliance.
Later, they parted ways due to various reasons. In 2019, JSP contested the elections alone and failed miserably with Pawan losing both the seats he contested.
In the TDP–JSP alliance, JSP received 24 Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats. Pawan has already announced five candidates for the Assembly, but didn’t disclose his own seat. He is likely to announce his candidature from Pithapuram in the second list.
Sources say that Pawan is pinning hopes on Kapu vote bank to win the elections and opted to contest from Pithapuram as there are about 1.9 lakh voters. Out of the 1.9 voters in the constituency, there are around 90,000 Kapu voters and around 50,000 BC voters. Pawan feels that if the Kapus vote for him, he can win the elections and enter the Legislative Assembly for the first time.
On the other hand, the ruling YSRCP has already announced the party in-charge from Pithapuram — Vanga Geeta, the sitting MP from Kakinada. After the recent development, the party is likely to replace the in-charge with a stronger candidate opposite Pawan Kalyan. Sources say that the YSRCP leadership is likely to field Mudragada Padmanabham’s son Challa Rao against Pawan at Pithapuram.
Interestingly, Mudragada Padmanabam was interested in joining JSP, but after the recent TDP-JSP Janda meeting, he changed his mind and is now willing to join YSRCP. A few YSRCP leaders have invited him to YSRCP and if the news making rounds in the political circles is to be believed, Mudragada will join YSRCP in a day or two.