RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: The BJP is trying to bounce back after the drubbing it received in the 2019 elections in Godavari districts.
In 2014, the BJP in alliance with the TDP and support of Jana Sena, won Rajamahendravaram City and Tadepalligudem Assembly seats, besides Narasapuram Lok Sabha seat in Godavari districts.
The BJP as a partner of TDP - Jana Sena alliance is now contesting for Rajamahendravaram and Narasapuram Lok Sabha seats and Anaparthi Assembly seat in Godavari districts.
In 2014, BJP candidate Gokaraju Gangaraju won Narasapuram Lok Sabha seat, while P Manikyala Rao and Akula Satyanarayana won Tadepalligudem and Rajamahendravaram City Assembly seats.
The Kapu-heartland of Narasapuram Lok Sabha seat consisting of seven Assembly constituencies will be the testing ground for the recently forged BJP-TDP-JSP alliance in the upcoming polls.
Elaborate arrangements are being made at Vemagiri in Rajamahendravaram for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on May 6. TDP supremo N Chandrababu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan would share the dais with him.
TDP founder NTR’s daughter D Purandeswari is testing her luck in Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha constituency. She is facing a tough fight from YSRC candidate Dr Guduri Srinivas and Congress nominee Gidugu Rudraraju. TDP former MLA Nallamilli Ramakrishna Reddy switched loyalty to the BJP and is contesting from Anaparthi Assembly seat. Purandeswari has already toured her constituency twice.
She met TDP and JSP leaders in all Assembly segments and has been addressing rallies. Women voters are attending her meetings in Rajanagaram, Gopalapuram, Kovvur and Nidadavolu Assembly segments.
She has concentrated on Anaparthi, which is considered a YSRC bastion and made a whirlwind tour. She met all the community leaders in the villages. However, Rudraraju is penetrating into rural areas and touching the Congress traditional vote bank. The YSRC is worrying about the Congress upsurge.
Winning is not new to the BJP in Godavari districts. The saffron party registered an impressive victory in 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls in Rajamahendravaram, and 1999 and 2014 in Narasapuram. A large section of the middle class and upper class voters constitute a major share of the electorate in the Godavari belt.
The voters expect a change in every election. They don’t bother whether Muslim reservations would be continued or not if they voted for the BJP, a Common Civil Code will be introduced or not. The Godavari voters get carried away by the swings and make a beeline to polling stations and vote for one party and give an impressive victory.
Unlike in Krishna and Guntur districts, Godavari voters are not ambitious but expect a change in every election. They do not bother about the ideologies of the parties. They do not reveal their mind in a straight forward manner. If they are not happy with government policies, they will vent their ire in the elections. The YSRC government may face a backlash for its liquor policy.
Now, there is an overwhelming response to BJP candidates Purandeswari in Rajamahendravaram and Srinivas Varma in Narasapuram constituencies. A social activist Somasundaram said that Godavari voters would not choose different parties in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. “If they want to vote for TDP in Assembly, they vote for the same party or those who are in alliance with it in Lok Sabha polls. Though Srinivas Varma is not a popular leader, his winning chances are increasing steadily,” he felt.
The YSRC has fielded Guduri Umabala, a BC, who is facing a tough time from the BJP. Upper-class Kapu voters and middle-class and some BC communities and one section of Dalit voters in Achanta, Tadepalligudem, Bhimavaram, Narasapuram, Tanuku, Undi, and Palakollu constituencies may vote in favour of the BJP.
The ruling YSRC will now look to consolidate the gains that it made in the 2019 elections when it made inroads into the strongholds of the TDP in Godavari districts.
It is not a cakewalk to the YSRC in Rajamahendravaram and Narasapuram, as the mood of the Godavari belt is changing slowly. However, the experiment made by YSRC has yielded good results in the 2019 elections in Rajamahendravaram.
The YSRC has taken a daring step by fielding BC candidates in Narasapuram and Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha constituencies, expecting consolidation of BC voters and the traditional vote bank in its favour. But the ground reality seems to be entirely different.
Saffron party registered victory in 1998, 1999 LS polls
Winning is not new to the BJP in Godavari districts. The saffron party registered an impressive victory in 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls in Rajamahendravaram, and 1999 and 2014 in Narasapuram. A large section of the middle class and upper class voters constitute a major share of the electorate in the Godavari belt. The voters expect a change in every election. They don’t bother whether Muslim reservations would be continued or not if they voted for the BJP, a Common Civil Code will be introduced or not