Penukonda, a TDP bastion for more than two decades

Penukonda (Anantapur): The total population of Penukonda Assembly constituency is 2,89,638, out of which 93.48 per cent is rural and 6.52 per cent is urban population.

The scheduled castes and scheduled tribes population is 15.63 per cent and 4.37 percent respectively. As per the voter list of 2018, there are 2,04,738 voters while the number of polling stations is 252.

In the 2014 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, 83.51 per cent and 82.96 per cent voter turnout was registered. In the 2014 elections, TDP candidate B K Parthasaradhi polled 79,793 votes and his nearest YSRCP rival polled 62,378 votes.

Penukonda Assembly constituency has been a stronghold of Telugu Desam Party for more than two decades. It is presently represented by B K Parthasarathi, a senior TDP leader. He is currently Anantapur district president of TDP.

The constituency was once represented by TDP's strongman Paritala Ravindra who was a 3-time MLA. He first became MLA of Penukonda in 1994. In 1999, he was re-elected. He became an MLA for the third time in 2004.

Ravindra was killed in 2005 and was a victim of factional feuds which was at its peak during his time. After Ravindra's demise, his wife Paritala Sunitha took a plunge into politics. But she changed the constituency and has been representing Rapthadu constituency.

However Penukonda remained loyal to the Telugu Desam Party even after Paritala Ravindra's death. In 2009, B K Parthasarathi contested from Penukonda and won over his nearest Congress rival K T Sridhar in a triangular contest.

In 2009, Praja Rajyam Party candidate K Ramesh Babu was in the fray. He polled 19,577 votes while B.K.Parthasarathi polled 68,400 votes and won over his Congress and PRP rivals.

In 2014 elections, Parthasarathi won over his nearest YSRCP candidate Malagundla Sankaranarayana by a majority of 17,415 votes. Sankaranarayana is once again re-nominated by YSRCP in 2019.

He is also the YSRCP district president. Interestingly, both the TDP and YSRCP candidates are presidents of district party units. TDP candidate Parthasarathi also served as ZP chairman in the past.