GUNTUR: As Amaravati has become a major political issue, the YSRC and the TDP are keen on winning majority Assembly seats in the Guntur district in the 2024 elections to prove their stand on the State capital Amaravati is correct. Though the YSRC is aiming to make a clean sweep as part of its Mission 175, it may not be easy due to internal bickering in the party. On the other hand, the TDP is making all-out efforts to regain its lost glory in the district, but its failure to maintain a strong cadre at the grass-root level is a cause for concern for it.
The YSRC won 15 of the total 17 Assembly seats in the district in the 2019 elections. Of the three Lok Sabha seats, the ruling YSRC won Narasaraopet and Bapatla, while Guntur went to the TDP in 2019.
Most of the senior TDP leaders, including former ministers Prathipati Pulla Rao and Nakka Anand Babu, tasted defeat. Five-time MLA Dhulipalla Narendra’s defeat in Ponnuru had weakened the party to a great extent.
After the bifurcation of the State, the political scenario in Guntur had changed with Amaravati becoming the State capital. In the 2014 elections, the TDP won 12 Assembly seats and YSRC 5. The proposal of the YSRC government to set up three capitals as part of its decentralised development plan has led to a political stir with farmers of the capital region, who gave their lands for the development of Amaravati strongly opposing it.
When it comes to the strength and weakness of the ruling party, there is an open dissent among YSRC cadres against Tadikonda MLA Undavalli Sridevi. When Sridevi had expressed her dissent over the appointment of MLC Dokka Manikya Varaprasad as an additional regional coordinator and later the district party in-charge, the TDP is not in a position to take advantage of it due to lack of strong leadership, opined analysts.
Former Home Minister and Prathipadu MLA Mekathoti Sucharitha was upset with the YSRC leadership after being dropped from the cabinet in the reshuffle. Alla Ramakrishna Reddy’s huge victory against TDP national general secretary and Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh in Mangalagiri gave a big boost to the YSRC. The TDP also suffered a jolt with Ganji Chiranjeevi, a strong leader from the dominant weaver’s community in the constituency, joining the YSRC.
According to political analysts, the TDP needs a strong cadre at the grass root level for the victory of the Lokesh if he contests again from Mangalagiri in the next elections. On the other hand, Alla is striving to keep his hold on the constituency intact with the YSRC mass contact programme Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam.In Guntur East, MLA Mustafa has a strong support from his community and minorities. He is planning to field his daughter Shaik Noori Fatima from the constituency in the next elections after convincing the YSRC leadership.
In the Guntur West segment, TDP MLA Maddali Giridhar had shifted his loyalties to the YSRC. Former TDP MP Modugula Venugopala Reddy joining the YSRC came as a huge blow to the TDP. On the other hand, former BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana, had failed to hold sway on his home turf, which the YSRC is planning to cash big and attract Kapu voters, analysts observed.
In the backward Palnadu region, the YSRC has a stronghold as it managed to get the vote bank of minorities, who were with Congress in the past. YSRC leaders are highlighting the development initiatives taken by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government, which included setting up of a government college and hospital in Dachepalli, highway construction at Chilakaluripet, new area hospital in Narasaraopet and various irrigation projects, besides a slew of welfare schemes, to win the people’s trust again.
In the reshuffle, Vidadala Rajini and Ambati Rambabu, who hail from the region, got cabinet berths. After the defeat in the last elections, Pulla Rao had become passive. The death of former TDP minister Kodela Siva Prasada Rao came as a huge loss to the TDP as no other leader was able to fill the void. Ambati is facing strong opposition from Jana Sena in Kapu-dominated areas. In Gurazala, YSRC MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy and TDP leader Yarapathineni Srinivasa Rao are locked in a bitter tussle, making allegations of corruption against each other.
Macherla is a YSRC bastion as the sitting YCRC MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy’s family has a strong hold on the constituency. The TDP cadres remained scattered due to the lack of a strong leader.
Despite losing the election in Repalle in the last elections, MP Mopidevi Venkataramana is striving to strengthen the YSRC at the grass root level. The YSRC is also making efforts to take advantage of people’s resentment against TDP MLA Anagani Satyaprasad, who has failed to resolve their issues effectively.
The formation of a new Bapatla district is likely to favour YSRC in the region. However, local MLA Kona Raghupathi, former Deputy Assembly Speaker, is facing opposition from his own party as ex-minister Gade Venkata Reddy is said to be working against him. Despite various shortcomings and issues, both the ruling and opposition parties are confident of their victory in the elections and evolving their own political strategies.
Stating that the capital issue will not hinder the YSRC election prospects in Guntur, district in-charge Dokka said only 25% of people in the capital region are landlords, who will benefit from the real estate, while 75% are landless people and they are with the YSRC for its welfare schemes.
Asserting that people are not at all happy with the YSRC government, Dhulipalla said there is no truth in the ruling party’s claim that its welfare schemes are reaching every household. Denying the fact that the TDP base at the grassroots is weak, he exuded confidence that the party will return to power in 2024.