The entry of Mr T. Subbarami Reddy as the Congress candidate for the Nellore Lok Sabha byelection has rejuvenated the party cadre which was reeling from its defeat in the byelections to the Kovur segment recently.
The image of Mr Reddy, TSR as he is known to everyone, as the benefactor who developed Visakhapatnam during his two terms as Lok Sabha member and even later, and a philanthropist precedes him in Nellore.
Indeed, as far back as six months ago, way before the political developments that necessitated the bypoll had occurred, TSR had promised to build shelters for families attending on patients in two important hospitals in Nellore apart from the construction of an air-conditioned auditorium at an estimated cost of `10 crores to stage cultural programmes.
TSR, who has completed two rounds of campaigning, filed his nomination papers on Thursday ahead of a rally with hundreds of people participating.
TSR faces Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy of the YSR Congress, whose resignation necessitated the bypoll, and former legislator Vonteru Venugopal Reddy of Telugu Desam. Mr Rajamohan Reddy, elected in 2009 on a Congress ticket, quit the seat after objecting to the name of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy by the CBI investigation in graft cases.