Several heavyweights in naxal infested Guntur
Naxal infested Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh which has ironically produced three chief ministers, is fielding several heavyweights for simultaneous assembly and parliamentary polls.
Naxal infested Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh which has ironically produced three chief ministers, is fielding several heavyweights for simultaneous assembly and parliamentary polls.
In the fray are two tobacco tycoons R Sambasivarao contesting on a Congress ticket and YV Rao on a TDP ticket for Guntur's Parliamentary seat.
Elsewhere in the assembly segment, K Sivaprasad Rao (TDP) state minister for health and medical services is attempting a hat-trick in Narasaraopet. The constituency hit headlines in September 1999 when explosives hit a nursing home there in which three persons died leading to postponement of the polls.
In adjacent Sattenapalli assembly constituency, K Anjireddy (TDP) former director general of health and medical services is in the fray.
Also contesting is sitting MLA and labour minister K Laxminarayan standing on a Congress ticket from Pedakurapadu where he faces B Revathi (TDP, wife of senior IAS officer B Rosaiaha.
In all 130 candidates are contesting 19 assembly seats which go the polls on April, where the Naxals run a parallel government, observers say the state administration has been forced to bring in eight companies of para-military forces in addition to Andhra Pradesh Special Police Protection forces.
