Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency never a TDP stronghold
TIRUPATI : As the polling day is less than a week away, the major contestants have intensified their election campaign in Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency to reach out to the people. The Tirupati Lok Sabha (SC reserved) constituency has posed a significant challenge to the TDP since its inception as the party won the seat only once in the last four decades that too in 1984, that ultimately saw the candidate defecting to the Congress.
Once a bastion of the Congress, Tirupati has witnessed a remarkable shift in political allegiance post bifurcation of the State, with the YSRC clinching victories in 2014, 2019 and the 2021 byelection. The YSRC is leaving no stone unturned to maintain its winning streak. Sitting YSRC MP M Gurumoorthy is determined to retain the seat at any cost.
On the other hand, the tripartite alliance has fielded Velagapalli Varaprasad Rao, a former YSRC legislator, who recently joined the BJP, in a bid to challenge the YSRC’s dominance.
The Tirupati parliamentary constituency comprising Gudur and Sullurpeta (SC reserved), Sarvepalli, Venkatagiri, Srikalahasti, Satyavedu and Tirupati Assembly segments, holds political significance. Its first MP, Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, who was elected in 1952, rose to become the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Despite occasional alliance with the BJP as part of its election strategy, the TDP show has been virtually dismal. In contrast, the Congress has established a formidable presence, winning the seat 12 times out of the total 17 elections held since 1952. Chinta Mohan, former Union minister, has witnessed the decline of the Congress electoral fortunes in recent elections, despite its past glory. However, undeterred by successive defeats in recent elections, he has launched a spirited campaign, advocating for Tirupati’s elevation to the status of a capital city as a Congress nominee in the election.
In 2019, major political parties had fielded candidates hailing from Nellore to win the Lok Sabha seat. They concentrated on Gudur, Sarvepalli, Venkatagiri and Sullurpeta Assembly segments, which fall in Nellore district, as part of the strategy to win the Lok Sabha seat. It is interesting to see whether the YSRC will retain Tirupati Lok Sabha seat or the tripartite alliance will grab it in the election, a political analyst observed.