Prathipadu constituency lacks development

Guntur: Prathipadu Assembly constituency is SC reserved under Guntur Lok Sabha constituency. This constituency was represented by former minister Makineni Peda Rathaiah, former minister Ravela Kishore Babu and former home minister and sitting MLA Mekathoti Sucharitha.

Makineni Peda Rathaiah (TDP) was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 1983, 1985, 1989, 1994 and 1999 Assembly elections. Ravi Venkata Ramana (Congress) was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 2004.

Mekathoti Sucharitha was elected to the Assembly in 2008, 2012 and 2019 Assembly elections. Ravela Kishore Babu was a former IRTS officer. He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 2014 on TDP ticket.

Mekathoti Sucharita was dropped from the State Cabinet about two years ago when Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy revamped his Cabinet. Initially, Sucharita was upset over the party leadership dropping her from the Cabinet.

She along with her husband Mekathoti Dayasagar tried to shift their loyalty to the TDP. Meanwhile, the YSRCP appointed Mekathoti Sucharita's husband Mekathoti Dayasagar as Machilipatnam Port Development Corporation chairman.

Guntur rural, Kakamanu, Prathipadu, Pedanandipadu and Vatticherakuru mandals come under this Assembly constituency. There are 2,50,247 voters in the Assembly constituency. SCs, STs and BCs are strong in the constituency. Chillies, paddy, cotton and horticulture crops are the important crops here. There is a need to set up agro-based industries to get value addition to the agriculture produce in the constituency.

Tail-end agricultural lands in the constituency do not get sufficient water for irrigation. This is the main problem in the constituency. The farmers had been agitating for the extension of Guntur channel for the last few decades. Though the government released a G.O. for the extension of the Guntur channel, funds were not released for land acquisition. There is no development in the constituency.

MLA Mekathoti Sucharita is facing stiff opposition in the constituency. Taking this into consideration, the YSRCP high command shifted her to Tadikonda and appointed her as Tadikonda Assembly constituency in-charge.

YSRCP high command appointed Balasani Kiran Kumar as Prathipadu Assembly constituency in-charge to contest in the coming Assembly elections. He hails from NTR district. In the caste equations, he has been appointed as Prathipadu Assembly constituency in-charge.

The TDP appointed retired IAS officer and former Guntur District Collector B Ramanjaneyulu as Prathipadu Assembly constituency in-charge. He started groundwork to contest in the coming Assembly elections. He is actively conducting the party programmes in the constituency and highlighting the failures of the YSRCP government.