There is still two more years to go for the next assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, but the lobbying for party tickets appears to have begun in the political parties in the state.
YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy might come out with some policy on the issuance of party tickets to the sitting MLAs and other aspirants during the party plenary to be held on Friday and Saturday.
On the other hand, the Telugu Desam Party headed former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party led by actor Pawan Kalyan are learnt to have begun the exercise of the selection of candidates, following the talk that there could be early elections to the state assembly.
Interestingly, sources said, there is a lot of demand for the tickets of Jana Sena especially in erstwhile combined East and West Godavari districts, apart from parts of Visakhapatnam, Prakasam and even in Nellore.
“All said and done, there are some pockets in these districts where the Jana Sena has bright chances of winning. That is why the aspirants have already stared lobbying for the Jana Sena tickets,” a senior journalist from West Godavari district said.
There have also been reports that some of the YSRC MLAs, who are not sure of getting the party tickets in the next elections, are in touch with Pawan Kalyan.
Last week, a couple of MLAs from Prakasam district reportedly met the Jana Sena chief to lobby for the party tickets.
Even some of the prominent TDP leaders from the constituencies where Jana Sena cadre is a little strong, are learnt to have approached Pawan Kalyan.
“It is only because of this demand that the Jana Sena chief has put forth the demand for more seats to his party as part of the alliance with the TDP,” sources said.