Jana Sena names coordinators for local body polls in north Andhra; Naga Madhavi gets Srikakulam, Vizianagaram

SRIKAKULAM/PARVATIPURAM/VIZIANAGARAM

Gearing up for the forthcoming local body elections, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) has appointed coordination committees for the Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Araku Parliamentary segments. It is the first party to appoint such committees in the north Andhra districts. Party president and Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan has appointed Nellimarla MLA Lokam Naga Madhavi as the coordinator for Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. Party leaders Pedada Rammohan, Gedela Chaitanya and J. Vishnu Priyanka have been appointed members of the coordination team.

The JSP, which did not win any Assembly seat in Srikakulam district in the 2024 elections, is keen on a lion’s share in the municipal and parishad elections in the district. On the suggestion of the party high command, district president Pisini Chandramohan, general secretary Daneti Sridhar and Etcherla in-charge S. Vishwaksen organised a rally of around 2,000 bikes on September 2 in Srikakulam. The appointment of the coordination committee in the wake of the rally assumes significance.

“Mr. Pawan Kalyan has an emotional attachment with Srikakulam district since 2018 when he organised a medical camp with US doctors to benefit the kidney patients. Following his initiative, the successive governments had constructed kidney research centres, dialysis centres and screened nearly 1 lakh patients. People from all walks of life wanted Jana Sena Party’s strong presence in the district,” Mr. Daneti Sridhar told The Hindu.

The party has been focusing on the Araku Parliamentary segment and appointed Srikakulam Urban Development Authority Chairman Korikana Ravikumar as the coordinator for the tribal-dominated segment. Parvatipuram, Saluru, Palakonda, Kurupam, Gummalakshmipuram and other areas of Parvatipuram-Manyam district are part of it.

The JSP won the Palakonda Assembly seat in 2024 and hopes to have a strong foundation in the tribal areas after the municipal and parishad elections. Mr. Ravikumar, a member of the party’s State local body elections committee, said Mr. Pawan Kalyan had won the hearts of tribal people by fulfilling the promise of laying roads to remote areas of Parvatipuram-Manyam district.