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Ganta Srinivasa Rao: Is he a strategist or opportunist?

VISAKHAPATNAM: Minister for human resources development Ganta Srinivasa Rao never seeks people’s mandate from the same constituency twice.


He has contested four elections successfully and changed constituencies all the time.

Winning different seats on a trot is not easy. But the man from Kamepalli village in Prakasam district has made it possible with his electioneering and strategies.



His opponents said he won constituencies in which his community voters were dominant. He would not seek mandate from the same seat due to fear of defeat, said his critics.

“A smiling face and intimacy with everyone are his assets. He will infuse confidence among the cadres and the public with his commitment toward any work. Winning different segments is not everyone’s game that would be possible for Ganta only because he has the rapport with people, said his friends Nalanda Kishore and Dr. Somnath.

His aides said it is difficult to figure out what Ganta Srinivasa Rao would come up with.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu encouraged him in his initial days after seeing his zeal and enthusiasm.

Ganta joined TDP in 1999 and stood for Lok Sabha from Anakapalli. He defeated Congress’s Gudivada Gurnatha Rao by 58,464 votes.

He defeated senior Congress leader Balireddy Satya Rao in Chodavaram by 9601 votes but TDP failed to form the government.

He joined Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party before the 2009 elections and won Anakapalli seat.

In a fight of titans, Ganta defeated Konatala Ramakrishna and Dadi Veerabhadra Rao with a majority of 10,866 votes.

Ganta was inducted into the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet as minister for port and infrastructure after Praja Rajyam merged with Congress. After bifurcation of the state, he joined TDP and won from Bheemili with a majority of 37,226 votes against YSRC‘s Karri Sitaram.

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