Kuppam – this very word is making Chandrababu Naidu jittery. Kuppam is his home turf. He has been contesting and winning from Kuppam from 1985. Even when the TDP was out of power, Kuppam stood by Chandrababu and sent him to the assembly with a thumping majority. But, since 2019 elections, when Chandrababu won by a much reduced margin, the TDP is on the downslide in Kuppam.
The Panchayat elections, ZPTC and MPTC elections in Kuppam constituency have seen the YSRCP making massive gains. The TDP was wiped out in a couple of mandals and got just one MPTC in another mandal in Kuppam assembly constituency. The YSRCP campaign was aggressive and it managed to wean away several TDP diahards and joined them into the YSRCP.
Chandrababu did visit Kuppam for damage control. He visited several mandas, interacted with the party workers and tied to instil confidence in them. However, his tour turned out to be a tame affair with the party workers showing lack of enthusiasm
Now, the Municipal elections to Kuppam municipality are round the corner. Kuppam is one of the municipal councils where elections could not be held. Now, these elections could be held by October end or November first half. The reservations have been announced and a notification is expected any time. So, another test for fire Chandrababu Naidu.