The selection of Maddila Gurumoorthy as the YSR Congress Party’s (YSRCP) candidate for the ensuing byelection to the Tirupati (SC) Lok Sabha seat is seen as the party’s reward to the physiotherapist’s personal loyalty and affiliation to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family.
Dr. Gurumoorthy hails from an agricultural family in Mannasamudram village of Yerpedu mandal, falling under Srikalahasti Assembly Constituency. Thanks to the commitment of his non-literate parents to see their ward take up higher education, he completed Bachelor of Physiotherapy and Certified Manual Therapy course. He has been a close follower of the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy since 2006, when he was studying at SVIMS University in Tirupati. He had even served in the campaign team of the party's honorary president Y.S. Vijayamma in the past.
Dr. Gurumoorthy accompanied the Chief Ministerial candidate Jagan, when he took out the ‘Praja Sankalpa Yatra’ from November 2017 to Jan 2019, covering a whopping 3,648 km across the State. As Jagan’s personal physiotherapist, Dr. Gurumoorthy was in charge of providing succour after a day’s arduous trek in different terrains braving the hot sun and backbreaking meetings with the general public.
Though Dr. Gurumoorthy’s candidature was officially announced just a few days back, his name started making rounds since the demise of Balli Durgaprasad. The official announcement came as no surprise at all, as the candidate has been touring all the seven Assembly constituencies (three in Chittoor and four in Nellore district) and meeting party leaders even before the word ‘go’ was uttered.
Amidst reported reluctance, the TDP had already announced the name of former Union Minister Panabaka Lakshmi as its candidate, while CWC leader and former MP Chinta Mohan has already started touring the constituency. The CPI(M) has announced the name of Nellore Yadagiri, the SPSR Nellore district president of its Vyavasaya Karmika Sangam (VKS) as its candidate. However, the BJP continues to keep its cards close to the chest, with many candidates reportedly expressing eagerness to throw the hat into the ring.
