Rajampet constituency: Keen fight on cards between TDP, YSRCP in Rajampet

Tirupati: Rajampet Assembly constituency, which was once a stronghold of Communist Party of India (CPI), later Swatantra Party founded by Rajaji, and then of Congress Party.

The constituency was once represented in the Assembly by stalwarts like Ratna Sabhapati and Konduru Prabhavathamma who become strong leaders and active legislators.

However, with the advent of regional parties TDP and YSRCP becoming dominant players, other parties were pushed into darkness. In 1952, CPI Panjam Narasimha Reddy was elected when Rajampet was in Madras state.

In the 1955 election, Congress candidate Pothuraju Parthasarathi was elected and in 1962 Swatantra party nominee Konduri Marareddy won the seat.

But in 1967, Bandaru Ratna Sabhapati was elected as Independent and again he won as Swatantra Party candidate in 1972 election.

In 1978, Prabhavathamma won the seat as Congress candidate and she retained it in 1983 also in the year in which the newly formed TDP came to power defeating the Congress and became a strong regional party in AP.

Prabhavathamma, after a gap of 21 years, was elected as MLA 2004.

Congress Party candidate Kasireddi Madan Mohan Reddy won in 1989. In the 2009, Congress candidate Akepati Amarnath Reddy was elected.

Later, he joined YSRCP and resigned as MLA causing a byelection in 2012 in which he won.

The TDP after a long gap won the seat in 2014 with its candidate Meda Mallikarjun Reddy getting elected. Reddy quit the TDP joined YSRCP and got elected as MLA in 2019.

The ruling YSRCP announced Akepati Amarnath Reddy as its candidate and also convinced its present MLA Meda Mallikarjuna Reddy to support him by assuring him MLC seat and also position to his brother. Mallikarjun Reddy is actively campaigning in constituency along with Amarnath Reddy.

For TDP, many are seeking ticket, including former MLA B Chengal Rayudu who lost as TDP candidate in 2019 and Jagan Mohan Raju who is running a chain of educational institutions.

Meda Vijay Shekar Reddy who is a close relative of a present YSRCP MLA Meda Mallikarjun Reddy is also trying for a TDP ticket.

TDP alliance partner Jana Sena Party is also demanding the seat for itself. The senior DRDA official Srinivas Raju who took voluntary retirement is seriously trying to contest as a JSP candidate.

The constituency has sizeable number of Balija (Kapu) and Kshatriya (Rajus) voters who are the deciding factor.

The TDP or JSP naturally may go for a Balija or Kshatriya candidate, as YSRCP has already announced Akepati Amarnatha Reddy as its candidate.

The constituency which has six mandals, Siddhavatam, Vontimitta, Nandaluru, Rajampet, Veeraballe and T Sundupalli, has 2,28,724 electors. It is going to witness a tough fight as TDP support has increased in recent years due to caste factor and anti-incumbency.