Kadapa: The YSRC is likely to register a straight win in the five Assembly segments of Rajampet LS constituency, that is Rayachoti, Rajampet, and Railway Koduru in Kadapa district and Pungunur and Mandanapalle in Chittoor district.
For a change in the Pileru Assembly segment there is a tough fight between YSRC and not TD but the Jai Samai-kyandhra Party (JSP) with sitting MLA former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy fielding his brother Kishore Kumar Reddy. The TD is safe in Thamballapalle where it has a sizable vote bank.
In all the Assembly segments YSRC is having an edge over its rivals mostly because of the Muslims in Mandanapalle and Rajampet and the Balija community.
In Pileru, the TD presence seems to be weak. Voters say that TD is backing JSP to give a tough fight to the YSRC.
Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has a decent vote bank in this Assembly seat which is an advantage for his brother Kishore Kumar Reddy. Mr P. Shekar, a voter said, “Kiran Kumar Reddy brought the JNTU College of Engineering, Sainik School, water supply, roads and other infrastructure. Crores were pumped into Pileru for developmental works. So keeping in mind growth people trust him and arelikely to favour the JSP. It is a tough fight between the YSRC and JSP. The TD’s chances are slim.”
In Madanapalle, the TD-BJP alliance has given ticket to the BJP. Most of the voters here who are Muslims (27,691) favour the YSRC. Mr Hameed Khan of Madanapalle explained, “Muslims here have been voters of the Congress. Our leader has told us to vote for a party that will not sideline us. Most of us are not after candidates but the party. We need a leader who recognises our community.”
The scene is different in Thamballapalle, where the TD’s presence is a threat to the YSRC. TD MLA Shankar Yadav has his own vote bank that can change results while sitting MLA Praveen Kumar Reddy of the YSRC has an edge as he is backed by the supporters of former MLA C. Prabhakar Reddy.
Punganur is a bastion of sitting MLA P. Ramachandra Reddy of the YSRC. In this Assembly seat although the TD is present it is a clean sweep for the YSRC.
In Rayachoti, Rajampet, and Railway Koduru, the three Assembly segments of Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency falling in Kadapa district, the YSRC party is likely to win as it has a very high population of Reddys and the Muslim community.
Rajampet alone has around 22,117 Reddys and 23,131 Muslims, while Rayachoti has around 45,598 Muslims and 31,549 Reddys. Railway Koduru, a reserved seat for SC, has 23,620 SC (Mala) and 16,891 SC (Madiga) population followed by 19,277 Reddys. If sources are to be believed it is the Reddy leaders who decide election results in Railway Koduru.
Mr Naresh Kumar, voter said, "In Rayachoti, voters have an affinity for the YSR family and the trend is such whichever party the YSR family is contesting from, voters will favour that party. Apart from that sitting MLA G. Srikanth Reddy has a very strong hold here. Secondly he comes from a political family. His father, Gadikota Mohan Reddy, served as an MLA from Lakkireddypalle Assembly segment during 2004-2009. Muslims are the majority in Rayachoti and they are traditional voters of YSR. Even in the 2012 by-election the YSRC won by a majority of 55,000 votes.
"Railway Kodur has a majority of SC (Mala) and then Balijas.
Now since A. Sai Pratap Reddy is contesting from the Congress the majority will favour the fan symbol. In all elections Koduru results are always decided by Reddy leaders. Sitting MLA K. Srinivasulu has a huge vote bank. While Rajampet has almost an equal population of Reddys, Muslims and Balijas, SCs come second.
Sitting MLA Akepati Amarnath Reddy is also contesting this election. He has hold over all major communities, adds Mr Karimullah, a resident of Kadapa.
