YSRCP looks for a hat-trick in Rajampet Lok Sabha seat

Tirupati : Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency which has four Assembly segments in the erstwhile Chittoor district limits and three in Kadapa district was a Congress Party stronghold till the establishment of YSRCP.

TDP has won the seat only twice in 1984 and 1999 while it lost the elections eight times. During these 10 elections since 1984, Congress candidate Annayyagari Sai Prathap won six times whereas P V Midhun Reddy, YSRCP candidate and son of minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, won in 2014 and 2019. He also became the leader of YSRCP parliamentary party.

In the last two elections, Midhun Reddy defeated D A Satya Prabha, wife of former MP D K Adikesavulu by a margin of 2,68,284 votes in 2019. In 2014, he defeated BJP candidate Daggubati Purandeswari by a margin of 1,74,762 votes.

The six-time MP Sai Prathap has become Central minister also. In the aftermath of bifurcation of the state, he lost deposits by securing only 29,332 votes in 2014 elections. He later joined TDP for a brief stint and left that party subsequently. Another MP from Rajampet P Parthasarathy who won four times in 1967, 1971, 1977 and 1980 also became Union minister.

Former Chittoor MP T N V Reddy (1952) won as Rajampet MP unanimously in 1957. S Palakondrayudu (1984) and Gunipati Ramaiah (1999) were only TDP leaders who became MPs from Rajampet constituency so far. On the whole, during 1952 to 2019, Congress Party won from Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency 11 times, YSRCP two times, TDP two times and Swatantra Party once. Among the winning MPs Parthasarathy, Saiprathap, Palakondrayudu and Ramaiah belong to Balija community whereas all other MPs are from Reddy community.

In the upcoming elections, YSRCP is fielding its sitting MP Midhun Reddy for the third time also and believes that with his family background and the command he enjoys among the party cadres, it will be a cakewalk for him to record a hat-trick this time.

On the other hand, TDP is actively considering the name of Sugavasi Balasubramanyam as its candidate. His father Palakondrayudu was a former TDP MP from the same constituency. This will lead to a tough fight between the ruling YSRCP and TDP this time.

However, the district headquarters issue is expected to play a crucial role in these elections. It may be recalled here that the people of Madanapalle area have made a prolonged fight demanding Madanapalle as district headquarters showing some historical reasons. In the same breath, the people of the Rajampet area have demanded their town should be the headquarters. However, ignoring both the demands, the state government has announced the Annamayya district with Rayachoti as the headquarters.

Subsequently, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has announced that if he comes to power Madanapalle and Rajampet will be made new districts which he did not say anything about Rayachoti. There was an opinion that if the TDP takes this assurance into people strongly, it may have a good impact on the fortunes of its candidate in the MP election besides in Assembly segments also.