ANANTAPUR: The ruling YSRC and opposition TDP-JSP-BJP alliance are facing a peculiar problem in Anantapur and Hindupur Lok Sabha constituencies of the undivided Anantapur district where anxiety over potential cross-voting looms over MP candidates.
Amidst the campaign fervour, supporters of the MLA candidates are conspicuously rallying solely for their respective contenders, without endorsing any MP candidates. During campaigns across various Assembly segments, voters, too, have expressed reluctance to support MP candidates for various reasons. Interestingly, MLA candidates have refrained from refuting this stance and instead urging voters to back them while leaving their MP vote choice open-ended.
Loyalists commit to voting solely for their party’s MLA nominees, considering factors like caste, locality, and past performance when considering the MP candidate.
Adding complexity to the electoral landscape, three out of the four MP contenders of YSRC and the alliance parties are non-locals.
The incumbent Penukonda MLA and former minister M Shankar Narayana is YSRC’s MP candidate from Anantapur, Ambica Lakshmi Narayana, who hails from Hindupur, represents the TDP. For Hindupur, Jolada Rashi Shantamma from Ballari in Karnataka, is the YSRC candidate, while former Penukonda MLA BK Parthasarathi represents the TDP.
Shankar Narayana, hailing from Dharmavaram but victorious in Penukonda, faces opposition from a faction of party leaders in his constituency over allegation of mistreatment of party workers.
Similarly, Ambica Lakshmi Narayana, considered an outsider due to his Hindupur origins, encounters resistance as he contests from Anantapur. Shantamma, also perceived as an outsider, has been fueling discontent against her candidature. As party leaders and their supporters seek votes solely for their MLA contenders, the silence regarding support for their party’s MP candidates raises speculations of potential cross-voting. The non-local factor, coupled with local dynamics, hints at a complex electoral scenario in the two parliamentary constituencies.
Resolving election issues in A’pur dist
A command control room has been established at the Anantapur Collectorate, while control rooms have been set up in all Assembly constituencies for the registration of election-related complaints
Command Control Centre
18004258802 (OR)
08554-234122, 18004258803 (OR)
08554-239822, 18004258804 (OR)
08554-231722