ANANTAPUR: Will incumbent MP Nimmala Kristappa achieve hat-trick? The question is in the minds of several people. While his supporters are confident that he will achieve the fete, his detractors say it is not likely to happen. The Parliamentary constituency, which was once represented by former President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, is facing several problems, most prominent of those being drought, drinking water, unemployment, migrations and underdevelopment.
Caste will play an important role in deciding the outcome of the elections in Hindupur Assembly constituencies. Kuraba and Boya are the dominant castes and have more voters than those belonging to other communities Kristappa is facing anti-incumbency and the electorate in Hindupur Lok Sabha constituency are reportedly not happy with their current MP. They felt that though development works could have been taken up, those were not initiated. With the electoral battle in the seven Assembly segments expected to be tough this time, MLA candidates are more worried to save their own situation and are not able to lend a helping hand to the MP candidate.
Gorantla Madhav, fielded by the YSRC is new to politics, but not to the people of Hindupur. As a brave and straight forward police officer, who has been known for locking horns with politicos coming in the line of his duty, Madhav is quite popular with masses. Further, he belongs to Kurba community, one of the dominant castes in the region.
Further, the TDP government reportedly created obstacles for Madhav from contesting the elections by not accepting his resignation, till the court intervened, and this has earned him sympathy of his electorate. Though industrial units, including Kia Motors, were set-up in Hindupur Parliamentary constituency, lack of jobs for the locals would act against the ruling party. Drought and drinking water problems are other major factors that would be disadvantageous to the TDP.