If speculations doing rounds in social media are correct, rebel YSR Congress party MP from Narasapuram Kanumuri Raghu Ramakrishna Raju is unlikely to get the ticket from any of the political parties – Telugu Desam Party or Jana Sena Party or even the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Though Raju has been hitting the headlines in the media with his aggressive attack on the YSRCP in general and party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in particular, he has not been able to get much traction among the electorate of his constituency.
He has not been able to visit his constituency even once in the last four years, ever since he raised a banner of revolt against the YSRCP leadership. The Jagan government has fixed him in quite a few cases and if he comes to Andhra Pradesh, he is facing the threat of being arrested in one case or the other.
As he has not been able to be available for the people of his constituency, they have more or less forgotten him, despite his regular appearance in the media. Even his followers in Narasapuram have not been able to do anything for the constituency on his behalf, fearing onslaught from the ruling YSRCP.
As a result, Raju stands little chance of winning the seat, if he contests the same seat in the next elections. That is precisely why the TDP and Jana Sena Party are hesitant to give him the party ticket from Narasarpur, though he has been maintaining very good relations with both TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan.
When he got the hints that both the parties may not give him the ticket, Raju has reportedly tried to approach the Bharatiya Janata Party for the ticket. However, he reportedly drew blank even with the saffron party, because of his connections with Chandrababu Naidu.
If he contests as an independent, Raju will have to face the defeat, as he would have to face a tough fight from YSRCP and TDP/Jana Sena candidates.
“So, the best option for him is to opt out of the contest and if the TDP-Jana Sena combine comes to power, he can lobby for a Rajya Sabha ticket,” a political analyst said.