Close fight likely between YSRCP, TDP

Uravakonda (Anantapur): The total population of Uravaknda constituency is 2,65,731. The percentage of rural population is 86.62 and urban population is 13.38. The scheduled castes and scheduled tribes population is 16.92 per cent and 4.99 percent respectively.

The total number of voters in the constituency is 2,00,562 and the number of polling stations is 241. The voter turnout in 2014 Assembly elections is 86.07 per cent and in Lok Sabha election was 85.38 per cent. The BJP, INC, YSRCP and the TDP registered 0 per cent, O.71 per cent, 48.8 per cent and 47.45 per cent vote share respectively.

The TDP candidate in the current 2019 Assembly election is Payyavula Keshav and the YSRCP candidate is sitting MLA Y Visweswara Reddy. Political heat is picking up in the politically volatile Uravakonda Assembly constituency known for domination by Payyavula brothers including Payyavula Keshav, MLC and chief whip in Legislative Council and his brother Payyavula Sreenivas, a political strategist.

Payyavula is described as an unlucky MLA as he has a history of winning whenever TDP lost and losing election whenever TDP won the election and rode to power. In 2004 and in 2009, he won the Uravakonda seat when Congress Party was in power and lost the election in 2014 when TDP rode to power.

Presently the constituency is represented by YSRCP MLA Y Visweswara Reddy. He won over Payyavula Keshav of the Telugu Desam Party in 2014 Assembly election. However, Keshav hogged political limelight once again in 2015 when he was elected MLC and became chief whip in the Legislative Council.

Apart from TDP and YSRCP, BJP, Jana Sena and the Congress Party are fielding candidates, making it a multi-cornered contest. Devineni Hamsa, official State spokesperson of the BJP and advocate who is the daughter of former MP Narayana Swamy, is also going to try her luck in the electoral battle as she feels that the Modi mania is still ruling the roost in the country.

Ravi Krupa Ramanaidu of the Congress and representing the Kamma caste, is also throwing his hat on the political ring as he believes that the Congress is witnessing it's revival with the Rahul wave riding high due to his support for the Special Category Status in the AP State.

Besides him, Goutham Kumar of Jana Sena Party and advocate Tukaram of Balija Sangam are presently aspiring for Uravakonda seat. These probable candidates representing five political parties have already launched people connect programmes through door-to-door campaigns. At Uravakonda, it is going to be a neck-to-neck fight between Visweswar Reddy and Payyavula. Campaigning picked up heat with just 3 weeks to go for Assembly elections.