Devineni Avinash

Devineni Avinash is an Indian politician from Andhra Pradesh. He has been affiliated with the Indian National Congress, Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress Party. He has contested elections for the Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency, Gudivada Assembly constituency and Vijayawada East Assembly constituency.

Early life

Devineni Avinash was born into a family active in Andhra Pradesh politics; his father, Devineni Nehru, was a five‑term Member of the Legislative Assembly from Krishna district, and founded the United Students Organization in Vijayawada. Avinash began as a student leader and later held leadership roles in youth organizations.

Avinash began his political career as president of the USO. He campaigned for Nehru, who contested the Andhra Pradesh election from Kankipadu mandal in the Krishna district.

Avinash first contested in the 2014 Indian general election as an Indian National Congress candidate for the Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency. At 26 years old, Avinash was the youngest among the major candidates, but was defeated by Kesineni Srinivas of the Telugu Desam Party.
His nomination followed the exit of then Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, who had quit politics after the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation. The election occurred after the creation of Telangana, with public sentiment largely against the Congress in the remaining Andhra Pradesh region.
Avinash faced competition from Kesineni Srinivas and Koneru Rajendra Prasad. Avinash received 39,751 votes, finishing third with 3.33% of the total vote share. Srinivas won with 592,696 votes, followed by Prasad with 517,834 votes.
The Congress party's vote share decreased across the state, attributed to public discontent over the bifurcation. Despite the loss, Avinash continued his political career and, in 2016, joined the Telugu Desam Party.
In 2016, he joined the Telugu Desam Party and was appointed State President of its youth wing, Telugu Yuvata by N. Chandrababu Naidu, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
He participated in the Samaikyandhra Movement, Jala Deeksha and student rallies.

In 2019, Avinash contested the Gudivada Assembly constituency as a TDP candidate, but lost to Gudivada local Kodali Nani of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Kodali Nani won the election with 89,833 votes, while Avinash secured 70,354 votes. The YSRCP went on to win the 2019 General Elections.
In November 2019, Avinash resigned from the Telugu Desam Party and joined the YSRCP. He served in Vijayawada East in charge for the YSRCP under the leadership of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy. He contested the Vijayawada East Assembly constituency in 2024, but did not win.
Following the defeat, in November 2019, Avinash resigned from the TDP and joined the ruling YSRCP. He served in Vijayawada East in charge for the YSRCP under the leadership of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
In the 2024 state assembly elections, he contested the Vijayawada East Assembly constituency against TDP candidate Gadde Rama Mohan. Mohan won the election with 118,841 votes, while Avinash was defeated bringing in 69,201 votes.