SRIKAKULAM : The Opposition TDP, which is fighting the elections in an alliance with the BJP and JSP in the State, has taken a risky bet in Srikakulam Assembly constituency by fielding political novice Gondu Sankar against three-time MLA and Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao.
While TDP senior leader and former minister Gunda Appala Suryanarayana won the segment in 1985, 1989, 1994, and 1999, his wife Lakshmi Devi represented the seat in 2014.
Representing the ruling YSRC is sitting MLA Dharmana Rao who has served as minister in the cabinets of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Konijeti Rosaiah and N Kiran Kumar Reddy from 2004 to 2013.
The constituency comprises Srikakulam Municipal Corporation, Srikakulam rural and Gara mandals. TDP’s Gunda Appala Suryanarayana and Dharmana Prasada Rao from YSRC have held a stronghold in the constituency since 1985. After Suryanarayana lost the seat in 2004 and 2009 to Dharmana, who was contesting on Congress ticket, the TDP nominated his wife Lakshmi Devi in 2014 and 2019 elections. She was able to defeat Dharmana, who had switched to the YSRC, in 2014. But in 2019, Lakshmi Devi lost the segment to the YSRC leader with a slight margin of 5,777 votes.
Srikakulam constituency has a diverse demography. With a population of 35,000, the Velama community dominates the landscape in Srikakulam. Other significant communities include fishermen, Srisayana, Vysya, SC, Kalinga, Kapu, and Yadava communities.
Contenders from both parties belong to the Velama community.
While the YSRC candidate is confident of bagging a fourth term, various pending projects such as the Kodi Rammurthy Stadium and Srikakulam-Amadalavalasa Road are likely to hurt his prospects.
Renovation of the Kodi Rammurthy Stadium remains a pipe dream for the sports fraternity in Srikakulam. The previous TDP government had sanctioned Rs 15 crore to take up works at the stadium in a 50:50 partnership with VUDA (Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority) in 2016. However, the works could not be taken up.
In 2019, Dharmana assured sportspersons and fitness enthusiasts of completing the stadium soon after coming to power. Yet, the stadium lies in neglect. Though the YSRC government sanctioned Rs 12 crore for the construction of Kodi Rammurthy Stadium, the works for the same have not yet started as the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force and tenders could not be finalised.
The government also failed to complete the construction of the integrated Collector Office with an estimated cost of Rs 116 crore. Though the works began in 2011, they stopped in 2018 due to various reasons.
Dharmana cleared pending bills worth Rs 7.5 crore and directed the officials to complete the works before January 2024. However, the officials failed to complete the works.
Srikakulam-Amadalavalasa Road is another thorn in the flesh for the ruling YSRC. The severely-damaged and pothole-ridden road has claimed lives of at least 20 people over the past few months. It is one of the key roads in Srikakulam district with the Srikakulam bus station at one end and Amadalavalasa Railway Station (Srikakulam Road Railway Station) at the other end.
At least 10,000 vehicles ply on this road daily as per local estimations. The YSRC government had sanctioned Rs 40 crore for construction of a stretch of 10.4 km of the road and another Rs 18 crore for land acquisition and utility expenditures. Subsequently, Srikakulam R&B officials finalised the tenders and started the road extension works in 2023. However, works were not completed due to the government’s apathy in clearing bills to the tune of Rs 10 crore.
Despite all the unkept promises, Dharmana is certain of winning. Highlighting the welfare schemes implemented by the YSRC government, Dharmana said 20,000 houses have been granted to people under Navaratnalu-Pedalandariki Illu. Further, he was confident that the residents of Srikakulam would not believe the “false propaganda” of the TDP.
Speaking to TNIE, the minister said, “I cleared the hurdles for three key projects in the constituency: Amadalavalasa-Srikakulam road, Kodi Rammurthy Stadium, and the integrated Collector Office. However, all the projects are still pending due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). We have given top priority to welfare schemes along with development activities. Unfortunately, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has been spreading canards that there is no development in the State. There is development in the health, education, and agriculture sectors under the Nadu-Nedu scheme. Development is nothing but improvement of the socio-economic status of a family. However, a few people, who encourage middlemen, don’t accept this type of development.”
Further, Dharmana hoped that he could capitalise on the dissidence within the TDP over the nomination of Sankar. He also promised to complete the pending projects, besides providing Vamsadhara water for second crop in the constituency after coming to power.
On the other hand, Gondu Sankar, who has worked towards the top from the ground level, and served as the sarpanch of Krishnappapeta under Srikakulam mandal, was confident about winning his debut election despite the dissidence in the party from Gunda’s family.
Stating that the sitting MLA failed to develop Srikakulam constituency, Sankar said, “The construction of the Kodi Rammurthy Stadium, integrated Collector office, and a desalination plant to purify drainage water before it flows into the River Nagavali, besides several other projects, were neglected by the YSRC government.”
Sankar said he has a clear idea of making Srikakulam as a model constituency. Further, he promised to complete repair works at Amadalavalasa-Srikakulam Road and construction of the Kodi Rammurthy Stadium within three months after coming to power. “With the support of the NDA government at the Centre, a bypass road will be built instead of an outer ring road in Srikakulam to resolve the traffic issues.” He also assured that the high command is working on persuading the Gunda family to support his candidature.