Some politicians firmly believe in the dictum of better late than never and TDP senior leader Peethala Sujatha is one among them. Sujatha, a leader from the Scheduled Caste community, was given key positions by Chandrababu Naidu. He made her an MLA from Chintalapudi and later made her a minister. She was given key ministries.

But, she failed to live up to Chandrababu’s expectations. She alienated party workers and leaders alike with her working style and behaviour. She got embroiled in groupism and the local party became fissured. As a result, Chandrababu did not give her the party ticket in 2019 elections. After the 2019 elections, she has become inactive and kept away from day-to-day politics.

In the later developments, TDP leader Karra Raja Rao, who led one of the two groups, has passed away. Now, Sujatha is slowly trying to rebuild the party in Chintalapudi. She is now trying to become active in politics again. She is now beginning to attend party programmes, private functions and other events in the constituency.

But, the real problem is Chintalapudi is a reserved constituency and has many claimants for the MLA ticket from the TDP. Former ZP chief and TDP leader Kokkirigadda Jayaraj is also eyeing the seat. So, with both the leaders vying for the same pie, there is intense competition in Chintalapudi.