Lok Sabha Polls 2024 | Face-off: D Purandheswari vs Dr Guduri Srinivas

The two are contesting from Rajahmundry.

Former Union minister and BJP’s state unit chief Daggubati Purandheswari is considered as a heavyweight given her political background. She was an MP from Bapatla and Vizag in 2004 and 2009, respectively, on Congress tickets. She also served as a Union minister in the UPA government.

In protest against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, she resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP just before the 2014 polls. In 2014, Purandheswari contested on a BJP ticket from Rajampet and lost to YSRCP candidate PV Midhun Reddy.

She unsuccessfully contested from the Vizag Lok Sabha segment in 2019. The former Congress leader is now trying her luck from Rajahmundry, which is one of the six Lok Sabha segments that the BJP would be contesting as part of the seat-sharing arrangement among the NDA alliance partners. In 2019, the YSRCP candidate polled 5.82 lakh votes, TDP secured 4.60 lakh and Jana Sena received 1.55 lakh votes.

Dr Guduri Srinivas is a political novice but a well-known pulmonologist in the city. Having education credentials such as MD and FCCP (Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians), he runs the Vijaya Bharati Chest Institute in Diwancheruvu area of Rajahmundry.

His wife, Radhika, was previously elected as a corporator on a Congress nomination. Dr Srinivas hailing from a Backward Classes community is banking on his public services in the last few years as a chest physician in the city, welfare agenda of the YSRCP government and the charisma of party supremo YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

In 2019, YSRCP candidate Margani Bharat won with a margin of 1,21,634 votes, securing 5,82,024 votes while his nearest rival TDP candidate Maganti Roopa got 4,60,390 votes.

This time, Jagan has changed the candidate. Sitting MP Bharath will be contesting from the Rajahmundry City Assembly segment while Dr Srinivas has been nominated to contest from the Rajahmundry Lok Sabha seat.

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