VIZIANAGARAM: Women voters in the district who outnumber men may slightly swing the fortunes of candidates. According to 2011 census, Vizianagaram district population is about 23,44,474 and the projected current figure is 24,24,954.
The sex ratio is 1,000 males to 1,020 females which is probably higher than in many other districts in the country. They constitute about 8,75,222 of total voters as against 8,58,327 male voters. The district has 118 third gender voters. Altogether the district has about 17,33,667 voters.
Vizianagaram, considered the smallest district in the State when it comes to the number of constituencies, has nine Assembly seats that fall in three Parliamentary constituencies. The district has two ST and one SC reserved seats. The delimitation has reduced its number of Assembly constituencies from 12 to nine. The Assembly segments of Terlam, Bhogapuram and Sativada have been merged with other constituencies.
The nine Assembly segments are: Vizianagaram, Nellimarla, Gajapathinagaram, Bobbili and Cheepurupalli. These fall under the Vizianagaram parliamentary constituency while Salur, Kurupam and Parvatipuram come under the Araku parliamentary constituency. Srungavarapukota Assembly segment comes under the Visakhapatnam parliamentary constituency.
The TDP is fielding all the sitting MLAs from their respective constituencies except Vizianagaram MLA Meesala Geeta and Kimidi Mrunalini from Cheepurupalli.
While Geeta was replaced by former Union minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju’s daughter Aditi, Mrunalini made way for her son Nagarjuna, who will take on veteran leader Botcha Satyanarayana of the YSRC.
The YSRC is banking on the anti-incumbency factor to win the seats in the district. Botcha Satyanarayana, who had the experience of leading the Congress to victory in the area in undivided Andhra Pradesh, is entrusted with the responsibility of steering the YSRC candidates to victory.
The TDP had won six seats as against three by the YSRC in 2014 elections. Botcha was in the Congress then and the grand old party which faced the first election after the State bifurcation failed to win a single seat in the State. Botcha had steered the Congress to victory in seven of the nine seats in the district in 2009 elections. The TDP had to content itself with two seats.
“Botcha is an asset for the YSRC,’’ a YSRC leader said.