Its Purandeswari vs GVL in Vizag BJP

A cold war of sorts is raging within the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. No, it's not about whether to back the TDP or remain neutral. It's about who should contest for the Visakhapatnam MP seat in the upcoming elections. Interestingly, two leaders, both with a national level profile, are vying for the seat. Both are said to be working hard to contest from Visakhapatnam.

For the past few years, Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao has been nurturing Vizag. He has been visiting the city frequently and has been participating in the party programmes. Though he hails from Tadepalligudem, he feels Vizag is a winnable seat and has begun doing some spade work there. A large number of banners and flexis have sprung up in several vantage points across the Lok Sabha constituency.

However, he has competition from none other than state BJP chief Daggubati Purandeswari. She has a long association with the constituency and has won from there on a Congress ticket. She even had a stint as a Central minister during the Congress regime. Later, she unsuccessfully contested from Vizag on Congress ticket. She has begun doing some homework in the constituency of late.

Vizag is considered a relatively safer seat for the BJP, because of the presence of the large number of North Indian voters. The city has over a lakh-and-a-half voters of North Indian origin, most of them working in various central government agencies, industries. Several retired Navy personnel too reside in Vizag. This makes it attractive for the BJP, which has a pan-Indian appeal for its nationalist philosophy.