The 2009 polls will decide the fate of three women Union ministers from Andhra Pradesh — D Purandeswari (Human Resources Development), Panabaka Lakshmi (Health and Family Welfare) and Renuka Chowdary (Women Development and Child Welfare) — all of them Congress candidates and finding the odds stacked against them.
One reason for this stands common for two of them — Purandeswari and Lakshmi. Delimitation forced them to shift to new constituencies. Renuka, the more popular among the three, is seeking re- election from her existing seat, but she is confronted with a combined opposition.
Renuka, who is trying her luck for the third time from Khammam which is considered a stronghold of the communist parties, is finding the going tough with the Telugu Desam and the Reds (both CPI and CPI-M) forging an alliance this time round. In the last election, the Congress had a tie-up with the Left and it was a virtual cakewalk for the stormy petrel.
As for Purandeswari, she had to unwillingly move to Visakhapatnam after the constituency she represents, Bapatla, in Prakasam district, was included in the reserved category. Purandeswari, daughter of late chief minister N T Rama Rao who is the founder of the Telugu Desam, had impressed Sonia Gandhi with her performance in the Lok Sabha and her affable nature.
But that did not help her get a seat of her choice in the same district. A complete newcomer to Visakhapatnam, she is said to be finding it difficult in getting unstinted support from local Congressmen — basically because they are peeved over a local not being considered.
The reverse happened in the case of Panabaka Lakshmi, who had to move out of Nellore after it was de-reserved. Though a Dalit, she was keen on contesting from Nellore itself even after it was de-reserved, because of her strong base in the constituency. But the Congress leadership was not willing and she grudgingly had to accept the Bapatla seat vacated by Purandeswari. The predominance of Madigas, a sub-sect of SCs who are currently unhappy with the Congress, is a worrying factor for her.