Andhra Assembly Speaker's wife wins Sarpanch election

Amaravati: Tammineni Vanisri, wife of Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram won a Sarpanch post in the third phase Panchayat elections. Vanisri won the Sarpanch post of the Togaram village in Amadalavalasa Mandal in Srikakulam district. Out of 1,460 votes, as many as 1,123 were cast in the election. Out of this, Vanisri got 808 votes compared to the runner up's 298 votes. Likewise, in East Godavari district, an MLA's mother won a Sarpanch post. Rampachodavaram MLA Nagulapalli Dhanalakshmi's mother Nagulapalli Raghava won Gondolu village sarpanch post in Addateegla mandal.

In Prakasam district, a medico was in the fray for a Sarpanch post. Buddula Ashritajyothi, a final-year MBBS student from Besthavaripeta in the district entered the election contest as a Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) supporter. This time, Besthavaripeta Sarpanch post was reserved for a woman from the Scheduled Caste.

In Chittoor district, a 23-year-old woman-chartered accountant (CA) bagged a Sarpanch post in the just concluded third phase election. Bandi Sashikala completed her CA and was working in Bengaluru. She resigned from her job to compete in the election and won it. Similarly, an MLC's son in Guntur district won a Sarpanch post. Janga Suresh, son of Janga Krishnamurthy, won the Sarpanch post in the Gamalapadu village of Guntur district's Dachepally mandal. Incidentally, Suresh's father was also a Sarpanch at one time who went on to become an MLA and an MLC now.