Hindupur LS constituency lags behind in edu sector

Hindupur Lok Sabha constituency with a population of 14,46,496 voters is spread in seven Assembly constituencies of Raptadu, Madakasira, Hindupur, Penukonda, Puttaparthi, Dharmavaram and Kadiri.

The sitting MP is Kuruva Gorantla Madhav. He is a police officer-turned-politician who contested and won as MP for the first time representing the YSRCP in 2019 general elections.

He is denied a ticket this time in view of his controversial style of functioning. The YSRCP is fielding Jai Shantamma as party candidate from Hindupur for 2024. The TDP is likely to field Nimmala Kistappa.

The constituency is 65-years-old and was founded in 1957. In 1957 and 1962 one K V Rama Krishna Reddy, an Independent served as the MP. In 1967, former President of India Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy won as the MP from the constituency.

Congress candidates Bayapa Reddy won as MP in 1971, 1977 and 1980 and S Gangadhar in 1988 and G Nizamuddin in 2004. In 1984, TDP candidate K Ramachandra Reddy won from the constituency. In 2009 and 2014, senior TDP leader Nimmala Kistappa got elected.

The constituency has industrial growth but is backward in terms of education. The lone government medical college sanctioned in Penukonda had not made any headway. Neither the sitting MP Gorantla Madhav nor the Penukonda MLA Sankara Narayana had carried it forward by following it up with the State government and the chief minister.

The most prestigious education project that has become a reality in Palasamudram in Penukonda is the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) project which is going to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 26.

The NACIN project was sanctioned at Palasamudram under the AP Reorganisation Act.