As two chairmen lock horns, who will win the battle at Tirupathi
Tirupathi,
Mar
21:
Two
former
chairmen
of
Tirumala
Tirupati
Devasthanams
(TTD)
will
lock
horns
in
the
Tirupati
constituency
in
the
April
11
assembly
polls
in
Andhra
Pradesh.
Chadalavada Krishnamurthy, who has been fielded by the Jana Sena, will be pitted against another former TTD Chairman B Karunakara Reddy of YSRCP.
Interestingly, this is the first time two former TTD chairpersons are locked in an electoral battle in the temple town, which will witness a multi-cornered contest also involving sitting TDP MLA M Suguna.
Krishnamurthy, who belongs to a dominant Balija community, quit the Telugu Desam Party led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu last year and later joined actor Pawan
Kalyan's Jana Sena Party. Krishnamurthy had served as chairman of the TTD Board, which administers the cash-rich ancient Lord Venkateswara temple at nearby Tirumala among others in 2015 while Karunakara Reddy held the coveted post in 2006. Krishnamurthy had quit the TDP last year after levelling corruption allegations against Suguna.