KAKINADA : The ruling YSRC is pulling out all stops to ensure that the Opposition TDP does not secure another win in the Mandapeta Assembly constituency in the 2024 elections. The yellow party’s Vegulla Jogeswara Rao has secured a hat-trick victory from the segment in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
In 2014, the first year in which YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party contested the elections, G Venkataswamy Naidu was fielded from Mandapeta. He lost to Jogeswarao with a margin of over 36,000 votes.
In 2019, the YSRC chose one of its strongman Pilli Subash Chandra Bose. He gave a strong fight, but lost to TDP with a margin of 675 votes. Bose had earlier won from the Ramachandrapuram Assembly seat and even served as a minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Lack of a strong leader is said to have been the reason behind the YSRC losing elections in the segment previously. However, now the party has entrusted the task of wresting the seat from the TDP to former Ramachandrapuram MLA and MLC Thota Trimurthulu. The MLC is actively participating in various party and government programmes, and is reaching out to the people to seek their mandate.
The party is of the view that Trimurthulu, a Kapu leader, could draw support from the community. However, the outcome cannot be predicted considering that the TDP is likely to ally with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.
While Trimurthulu might be the party’s choice, he faces dissidence from YSRC leaders in the region who also have been working hard to strengthen the party for the past fourand- a-half years, hoping to contest from the segment.
He is also facing strong opposition from the Dalit community, following his alleged involvement in the tonsuring of a youth from Venkatayapalem in Ramachandrapuram almost two decades ago. Trimurthulu faces tough competition with Jogeswara Rao as he has the support of the Kamma community, a dominant caste in the constituency.
Formed in 2008, Mandapeta was a part of the united East Godavari district. It was later merged into the BR Ambedkar Konaseema district following the restructuring of districts. According to the latest statistics, 2,15,390 voters have been registered in the constituency.