Amalapuram Constituency: YSRCP Fields Ex-JSP MLA Against NDA

Amalapuram Lok Sabha Constituency, a significant Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh witnesses a fierce battle between YSRCP and TDP-BJP-Jana Sena alliance. YSRCP has announced Rapaka Vara Prasada Rao, an incumbent MLA from Razole Assembly constituency as its candidate in Amalapuram, a reservation seat for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. Meanwhile, BJP-TDP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) alliance has announced Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi, a runner up from the constituency in 2019 general elections.

In 2019 Lok Sabha election, the YSRCP candidate Chinta Anuradha won the seat with the margin of 4,85,313 votes. She defeated TDP candidate G Harish Madhur, who received 4,45,347 votes. The YSRCP has kept its sitting MP Chinta Anuradha aside from the fray because of the factors such as poor performance and lack of access to the cadre.

Amalapuram, also known as Panchaligapuram, holds a history of consecutive victory of Communist Party of India (CPI) in the first two general elections (1952 and 1957), the Congress won the seat five consecutive terms till 1984. After the formation of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1984, the Congress and TDP has won the seat for four and five consecutive times, respectively.

In Amalapuram, originally named as Amipuri, most of the people reside in villages and belongs to the farming community. Almost 91% of the total population of the constituency live in villages. As a SC category reservation seat, 24.58% of the total population belongs to the Scheduled Castes. Amalapuram parliamentary constituency comprises of seven Legislative Assembly segments, Ramachandrapuram, Mummidivaram, Amalapuram, Razole, Gannavaram, Kothapeta, and Mandapeta. Three out of seven assembly segments are the SC category reservation seats.

As per the 2019 Assembly elections, TDP has one MLA, and YSRCP has six MLAs from Amalapuram Parliamentary constituency. The current candidate of YSRCP, Vara Prasad has won the Razole Assembly seat on a Jana Sena Party ticket. Later, he joined YSR Congress Party.

According to the Election Commission, there are total of 13,57,865 registered voters on this constituency, including 5,65,013 male and 5,48,900 female voters.

The YSRCP firmly believes that the welfare schemes of the Chief Minister and YSRCP supremo, Jagan Mohan Reddy, will help the party to win the battle in large margin from the state. The party highlights the dozens of welfare schemes of the YSR Government for the elections campaigns in the state. TDP, which is the Opposition, hopefully believes that the alliance with BJP and Jana Sena Party will help them to attain success in maximum number of seats. For Chandra Babu Naidu, the TDP Chief, winning this election is important to keep the party alive and also the pass on the baton to his son, Nara Lokesh.

(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project.)