Candidates in Nellore have started reconnecting with old contacts to seek support as the deadline for filing nominations for the Nellore Municipal Corporation polls ended on Sunday. Politicians here value personal ties over party lines. TDP’s Poluboyina Roop Kumar Yadav faces YSRCP’s Anam Vijayakumar Reddy in a very close fight.
As the deadline for filing nominations ends on Sunday, candidates in the fray for the Mayor and corporator posts for Nellore Municipal Corporation (NMC) have reconnected with old contacts to drum up support for the upcoming local body elections.
Nellore is a district where politicians maintain deep familial and friendly ties that transcend political ideologies. Strict compartmentalisation within the party lines rarely holds true in the district.
There are several instances of leaders who share the same lineage, caste, or surname yet represent political parties whose ideologies are poles apart. Renowned political families, such as Anams, Mekapatis, Nallapureddys, Nedurumallis, Adalas, Kakanis, Somireddys, Vemireddys and Kotamreddys have their roots entrenched beyond their known political peripheries.
And such leaders have always believed in exchanging pleasantries and conveying their wishes even to their political opponents, rather than keeping an adversarial distance. At times, extending support to 'our candidate', albeit on the wrong side, does not amount to wrongdoing, many feel.
It was in this backdrop, the candidates have started refreshing their past contacts, old pals, peers and contemporaries at work to seek their support. Meanwhile, TDP's Mayor candidate Poluboyina Roop Kumar Yadav (former Deputy Mayor) is pitted against YSRCP's Anam Vijayakumar Reddy (former constituency in-charge).
The fight is believed to be on an even keel in Nellore in view of the personal contacts as well as the 'accessible to the public' tag both of them are known to have.