KURNOOL : With elections fast approaching, all eyes are on Dhone Assembly constituency in Nandyal district where two prominent politicians — YSRC’s Buggana Rajendranath Reddy and TDP’s Kotla Jayasurya Prakasha Reddy — are set to lock horns.
While the sitting Dhone MLA and finance minister is vying for a third term, former Union minister Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the seat from the ruling YSRC. They both have been campaigning vigorously by conducting door-to-door visits and public meetings.
Water crisis, unemployment and migration are some of the top concerns of the voters in the segment.
Lack of irrigation water has resulted in insufficient job opportunities, consequently causing youth and agricultural labourers to migrate to cities like Guntur, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ballary in search of livelihood.
Many roads to access the villages have been constructed poorly due to the negligence of the current government, R Venkatesh, a resident of Dhone town alleged. Many eligible beneficiaries have been left out of government schemes due to political reasons, he added.
Dhone is a prominent constituency as it was from here that Neelam Sanjiva Reddy contested the elections in 1962 on a Congress ticket and went on to serve as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and later the sixth President of India from 1977 to 1982.
Buggana is banking on the development initiatives he has taken up in the constituency. He has been highlighting the development brought in infrastructure, education, provision of water for farmers and road connectivity under the YSRC rule. The incumbent MLA has promised to continue the welfare and development programmes to ensure progress of the people of Dhone.
TDP’s Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy is mobilising the cadre and party sympathisers to challenge the incumbent. A seasoned politician and former Union Minister, he brings decades of experience to the table. He is banking on the legacy his family name carries and the work done by his father and former Chief Minister Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy as well on his own victories as Kurnool MP.
AN OVERVIEW
2,24,085 - Total Electorate
Male - 1,10,748
Female - 1,13,259
3rd gender - 78
291 - Total poling booths
2019 POLL OUTCOME
Buggana Rajendranath (YSRC): 1, 00,845
KE Pratap (TDP): 65,329