Eyeing Tirupati seat, BJP opens district office in town

Setting its eyes on the yet-to-be-scheduled Parliamentary by-election in Tirupati, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday opened a district office in the town.

“Inaugurated BJP district office in Tirupati along with state president Somu Veerrajuand other karyakartas (party workers),” said Andhra Pradesh BJP co-in charge and national secretary Sunil Deodhar.

Veerraju said the new party office will be the stage to receive innovative opportunities for public service.

Deodhar and several other leaders are camping in the temple town to wrest its Parliament seat, a Scheduled Caste (SC) constituency, from the clutches of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

Aiming to endear the BJP to the local people, the saffron party has been organizing several outreach programs on a regular basis.

On Thursday, Veerraju met with a string of backward class leaders in Tirupati and enquired about the problems faced by their communities.

He is also meeting a good number of influential locals to garner their support for the election.

The Tirupati MP seat fell vacant after local MP Balli Durga Prasad succumbed to coronavirus recently.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has already declared Panabaka Lakshmi as its candidate for the election but it is not yet clear who will contest from the BJP-Janasena alliance.

The ruling YSRCP is yet to declare its candidate for the seat.