Tirupati LS win never a cakewalk for TDP

Tirupati:Tirupati Lok Sabha reserved constituency has proven to be a thorn in the flesh for TDP posing persistent challenges since the party’s establishment in 1983.

In the last four decades during which 11 elections were held, the party has secured victory only once in 1984. Even that candidate has subsequently switched allegiance to the Congress Party. YSRCP, on the other hand, won the seat in the three elections it contested in 2014, 2019 and in the byelection held in 2021.

On its part, TDP has failed to cultivate strong leadership in the constituency, marked by a history of alternating candidates and defeats. It even occasionally ceded the seat to allies. Out of the seven Assembly segments in the Tirupati Lok Sabha limits, three are in the erstwhile Chittoor district while the remaining four are in the erstwhile Nellore district. The first MP from this seat M Ananthasayanam Ayyangar who was elected in 1952 has become the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Now, as the TDP seeks to reverse its fortunes in Tirupati, the party faces the challenge of selecting a formidable candidate. The party is said to be weighing in favour of a woman candidate Angalakurthi Neeharika, daughter of civil servants A Vidyasagar and K Rathna Prabha. Rathna Prabha has served as Chief Secretary of Karnataka and contested in 2021 by-elections from Tirupati on BJP ticket.

As part of alliance TDP has given Tirupati Lok Sabha ticket to BJP in 1999 and 2004 while its candidate N Venkataswamy has won the seat once and lost the second time. Congress party established a strong footprint on this constituency with its candidates having won 12 times since 1952 out of 17 elections held. Its candidate Dr Chinta Mohan won five times during 1989 and 2009 out of seven elections held. Chinta also won the seat in 1984 but on TDP ticket taking his winning tally to six times.

C Dass and T Balakrishnaiah (two times each) and P Penchalaiah and Nelavala Subramanyam (one time each) also won on Congress tickets. V Varaprasada Rao, B Durga Prasad Rao and Maddila Gurumoorthy have won on YSRCP ticket. The ruling party reposed faith on sitting MP Dr Maddila Gurumoorthy and chose him as its candidate once again. The young physiotherapist has worked hard in getting several projects to constituency and Tirupati city in particular after he became MP in 2021.

Chinta Mohan has been contesting the elections unsuccessfully since 2014. In 2014, he got 33,333 votes while in 2019 his vote tally has come down further to 24,039. In the 2021 byelection, he got only 9,585 votes. This time, he has taken up a new slogan in favour of ‘Tirupati capital’ and has been touring the constituency vigorously.

In the coming elections, it is to be seen whether BJP fields its candidate or if any alliance with TDP-Jana Sena could be struck. In any case, there will be at least a triangular fight once again and it is of interest whether TDP candidate will make it to the Parliament at least in this election.