RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Tanuku Assembly in West Godavari district is set to witness a repeat of the 2019 electoral fight as the YSRC has renominated sitting MLA and Civil Supplies Minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao and the TDP has fielded former legislator Arimilli Radha Krishna.
In 2019, Rao had defeated Radha Krishna by a slight margin of over 2,000 votes. In 2014, TDP’s Radha Krishna had won against YSRC’s Cheerla Radha Krishna by 30,948 votes. In 2009, Nageswara Rao, who had contested from the constituency on Congress ticket, won against TDP’s YT Raja by a margin of less than 1,400 votes.
Tanuku has been the stronghold of TDP since the party’s inception in 1982. Of the nine times that elections have been conducted in the segment since 1982, the TDP has won six times.
Known for its lush paddy fields, Tanuku is socially and economically dominated by the Kamma community. Kapus and BCs constitute 70%of the voters.
The promise to establish an Autonagar has been on paper for the past two decades. As the town is surrounded by Palakol, Tadepalligudem, Ravulapalem, automotive mechanic shops and auto part shops have mushroomed across the town.
Successive governments have not been able to address the issue, said U Madhura Mohan Rao, a retired lecturer in the city.
Both contenders had promised to set up an Autonagar in 2009, but no action has been taken so far. Land has also not been acquired for the project yet.
Another issue that remains unaddressed for several years is the Satyawada drain. The water from the drain overflows into Velpur and Mandapaka villages near Tanuku town during monsoons, giving sleepless nights to the residents. Tenders were invited for modernise the drain under the past regime. But funds have not been released so far.
A region in the western delta, Tanuku is surrounded by villages where the occupation of majority of the people is farming. However there has been no storage centre in the agriculture market committee.
Time and again political parties have assured farmers that measures will be taken to establish a storage centre, but there has been no progress in the matter, rued Kodamanchili Krishna, a farmer.
With elections approaching, both the candidates have been aggressively campaigning in the constituency and are confident of their victory.
A BC leader, sitting MLA Nageswara Rao said the YSRC is banking on the initiatives introduced by the ruling party in the past five years. Exuding confidence, he said the YSRC will retain the seat for a second term. His son Sunil Kumar Yadav also in the poll fray and contesting from the Eluru Lok Sabha segment.
Asserting that the public rallies of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and JSP chief Pawan Kalyan have garnered overwhelming response, Radha Krishna said people are frustrated with the anti-development policies of the Jagan government. “We will win the seat with a huge majority and gift the victory to Naidu,” he added.
Meanwhile, the allocation of Tanuku segment to the TDP has left JSP leader Vidiwada Ramachandra Rao annoyed. He was aspiring to contest from the constituency and party president Pawan Kalyan had also announced his candidature from the seat. However, as part of the alliance with the TDP and BJP, the JSP had to concede the seat. It is not yet known if Rao will contest the elections as a rebel.
Though he is a Kamma, he polled 31,000 votes in 2019 elections considering that Kapus account for a sizeable population in the constituency.
