Kadapa has the legacy to send doctors to the state Assembly over the past few decades and this time too a doctor is testing his luck at the elections. However, seasoned doctor-turned-politicians have to take a break this time from elections due to various political equations.
The district has the distinction of sending nearly 10 doctors to the Assembly and Parliament and some of them went on to become chief minister and ministers. This has been going on since the 1970s. Notable among the doctors who were elected from here were former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, MV Mysura Reddy, MV Ramana Reddy and DL Ravindra Reddy.
Not only have medical doctors taken a plunge into politics but some like Mysura Reddy and Ramana Reddy have actively participated in various agitations including the 1986 padayatra of the Rayalaseema region for irrigation water, increase in the height of the Potireedypadu head regulator and implementation of Sri Bagh Pact. The agitation forced the then chief minister NT Rama Rao to take up several welfare schemes in the region.
The entry of medical doctors into politics and winning elections started in 1978 when YS Rajasekhara Reddy (Congress) and DL Ravindra Reddy (independent) won from Pulivendula and Mydukur constituencies respectively. Some doctors like Rajasekhara Reddy and Mysura Reddy also became MPs and went to Parliament.
This time, only one doctor is in the poll fray. He is A Harinath Reddy who is contesting the Kadapa Assembly seat on behalf of the TDP-BJP alliance. Senior leaders like Ravindra Reddy, Mysura Reddy and V Sivaramakrishna Rao are not in the fray as some of them could not get their respective party ticket while others have opted out due to poor health.