Anantapur Constituency: YSRCP To Face Challenges For A Second Win

The Anantapur Lok Sabha Constituency, an oscillate seat between Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), is ready to poll on May 13. Anantapur is a constituency that has given baton to the Congress 12 times since 1952. After the formation of TDP by NT Rama Rao in 1982, the Congress has won the seat six out of ten times. The TDP has won the seat three times. Since the area is affected by naxalism, left-wing parties hold significant influence in the constituency. Tarimela Nagareddy of Communist Party of India won the seat once, in 1957. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party has won the seat for the first time in 2019. Talari Rangaiah of the YSRCP has won the seat with a victory margin of 1,41,428 votes, securing 51.79% of the vote share.

The YSRCP has won the seat on a large margin in the last election. Along with that, YSRCP has won six out of seven Assembly segments in 2019 Assembly elections. While Rayadurg, Guntakal, Tadipatri, Singanamala (SC), Anantapur Urban, and Kalyandurg has won by YSR Congress Party, Uravakonda has won by TDP. Malagundula Sankara Narayana, an incumbent MLA of Penukonda constituency, is the YSRCP nominee for the seat. The challenge that YSR Party has to face is the upset of farmers in the constituency. The lack of drinking and irrigation water is the major concern of the farmers in the constituency. The subsidy on drip irrigation, which farmers recieved during the tenure of TDP until 2019, was stopped by incumbent YSR government has created more reactions against the state government. Regional media from Anantapur reports that the farmers will vote for change this time.

The TDP has fielded Ambika Lakshmi Narayana as the NDA candidate in the seat. The candidate blames the incumbent government for neglecting Anantapur and pledges the development of the region, if voted to power. The TDP-BJP-JSP, tripartite alliance believe that the anti incumbency factor against state government, regional issues of the farmers and historical vote share of TDP will bring secure victory in the seat.

According to the data, the Congress has got large number of vote share from the seat and it has won until 2009. Anantha Venkata Rami Reddy was the last member from Congress, who has won the seat in 2009 by securing 34.11% of vote share. Since then, the Congress has declined its vote share to 1.24% and 2.24% in 2014 and 2019 elections, respectively. The formation of alliance with Congress and left parties cannot make a change in the poll results. According to the data, in 2019 election, the total vote share of both parties would only add upto 3 percent . However, Mallikarjuna Vajjala has been contesting from the constituency on a Congress ticket.

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