VIJAYAWADA: The elections in Vijayawada Central constituency has always been a tough nut to crack for the political parties as well as poll managers. The people in the segment, which has a large number of youths, businessmen and educated masses, have time and again voted for the party that they consider to have higher chances of performing well in other parts of the State. A candidate’s image, irrespective of how big a personality he/she is, does not seem to bother the electors of the segment much.
The bigwigs in Vijayawada politics such as Vangaveeti Radhakrishna (son of late leader Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga), Malladi Vishnu Vardhan (Vishnu) and P Gowtham Reddy have tasted this indistinct behaviour of the Central constituency voters in 2009 and 2014.
In 2009, Vishnu, who contested against Radhakrishna, won the election. The scenario changed in 2014 election and Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, then a newcomer was given the opportunity as the voters reposed their faith in the TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu. “In this constituency, people are so calculative and know well who to vote. Irrespective of a candidate’s image, they vote for the party that has good reviews,” said P Shankar, a resident of Satyanarayanapuram.
The Central constituency has voters from Brahmin, Kamma and Kapu communities and candidates from the three major parties are banking on votes from these communities and their parties’ reputations.
The incumbent MLA, Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, is confident that he will make it to the Assembly this time too as people trust him and his party, the TDP. However, the battle may not be a piece of cake as the YSRC candidate pitted against him is also a popular face. In addition, Jana Sena and communist party candidate Chigurupati Babu Rao may create a significant impact if he is able to split votes of the YSRC and the TDP.
During the 2014 elections, Bonda Umamaheswara Rao had promised the residents that he would make sure that sufficient drinking water was supplied to localities such as Ajit Singh Nagar, Vambay Colony, Devi Nagar, Nunna and Sri Nagar Colony; construct roads, complete underground drainage works and provide a permanent solution in regards to the dumping yard in Ajit Singh Nagar.
“I fulfilled more than 80 per cent of my poll promises in the last five years. I ensured that all the eligible candidates get the government benefits entitled to them. I set up 12 Apollo health centres in the constituency. I strongly hope that people of my constituency will give me another chance to serve them,” Bonda Uma said.
This election, there is a good chance of division of Kapu votes. “This time, we will play a crucial role by making our presence felt in the elections. People of the Central constituency are looking for a change and that change is possible only with the Jana Sena and Communist parties,” said the CPM MLA candidate Ch Babu Rao.
According to the data released by Chief Electoral Officer Gopala Krishna Dwivedi on Tuesday, there are 2,69,859 voters enrolled in the Central constituency as against 2,59,001 in 2014; of them, 1,32, 531 are men, 1,37,256 women and 72 transgenders. Of the total, 30 per cent of the voters are under 30 years of age.
However, the anti-incumbency factor in Satyanarayanapuram, Ajit Singh Nagar, Suryaraopet, Moghalrajpuram and Krishna Lanka might play a crucial role as the ruling party ‘failed’ to get the State the Special Category Status and, with high unemployment rate in the State, majority of the youth are favouring Jagan.
Suryalatha, a housewife, said: “We voted for Chandrababu Naidu as we believed that he could bring the newly-formed State into shape. The things that he promised is far from being realised.”
By highlighting the failures of the Telugu Desam leaders, MLA candidate Malladi Vishnu is seeking to get a good response from the poor. “The ruling party failed completely to develop the State and ensure welfare of the poor. The sitting MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao has misused the powers given to him. There are many land grabbing allegations against him, who even faced magisterial enquiry. People are now supporting the YSRC,” he said.
