Kimidi Sandhya Emerges as Contender for Vizianagaram Zilla Parishad Post

Kimidi Sandhya, daughter-in-law of Cheepurupalli MLA and former Minister Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao, is expected to enter the race for the Vizianagaram Zilla Parishad chairperson position. She is the wife of TDP State Secretary Kimidi Mallik Naidu and the granddaughter-in-law of Mr. Venkata Rao. To secure the chairperson post in the upcoming election, Ms. Sandhya is likely to contest either from the Garividi or Gurla Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency as a necessary first step.

The election for the chairperson position will be conducted indirectly among 27 ZPTC members in Andhra Pradesh. Both the Garividi and Gurla areas feature a higher population of backward classes, including the Kapu community, and are part of the Cheepurupalli Assembly segment. Mr. Kala Venkata Rao won against YSRCP heavyweight Botcha Satyanarayana during the 2024 general election, though he did not receive a ministerial berth afterward. Local party leaders initially urged Mr. Mallik Naidu to seek the ZP chairperson post, but because the position was reserved for backward class women, the family decided to field Ms. Sandhya instead.

A confidant of Mr. Venkata Rao noted that the family has maintained friendly relations with the Chandrababu Naidu family spanning four decades, raising hopes that the party high command will consider Ms. Sandhya. Should the leadership approve her candidacy for the ZP chairperson role, she will officially contest the ZPTC seat to facilitate her bid for the position.