NELLORE: Former MP and retired IAS officer Mr V. Varaprasada Rao of YSR Congress is pitted against sitting legislator Mr Pasam Suneel Kumar of TD in Gudur constituency. Incidentally Mr Suneel was elected with YSRC ticket in 2014 but switched over to TDP later. Mr Varaprasad was elected as MP for Tirupati parliament in 2014 but the party fielded him for Gudur assembly seat reportedly after he sought the Gudur ticket to his son.
The reserved constituency elected Congress and Congress-I nominees for 5 times, TDP 4 times, YSR Congress once and independents also bagged the seat three times since 1955 to 2014.
Mr Balli Durgaprasad Rao won the 1994, 1999 and 2009 polls as TDP candidate. Mr Patra Prakasa Rao won 2004 polls from the Congress. Mr Balli Durga Prasad had lobbied for a TD ticket in 2014 unsuccessfully and the party picked up a government medical officer Ms Jyoshna Latha. She lost to YSRC nominee Mr P. Suneel Kumar with 9000 votes and the latter switched over to TDP after winning the seat.
Unable to bear the negligence in TDP, Mr Balli Durga Prasad Rao migrated to YSRC and the party fielded him for Tirupati parliament constituency. This move became an advantage for Mr Varaprasad, YSR Congress nominee for Gudur assembly, because Mr Durga Prasad was very familiar in the segment for nearly 3 decades. Even Mr Varaprasad was not new to the constituency having been a Tirupati MP.
Similarly TD's move to field Ms Panabaka Lakshmi for Tirupati Lok Sabha was a blessing in disguise for Mr Suneel Kumar as Ms Lakshmi and her husband Mr Panabaka Krishnaiah have a good relationship with politicos of the region beyond political affiliations. Though Gudur segment is home for popular political families such as Nedurumallis and Nallapareddys, development eludes the constituency, especially Gudur town.
The railway line passing through Gudur divides the town in two parts and it is a herculean task to go to the other side of the town for the denizens. Though Ms Panabaka Lakshmi, as union minister, had managed to obtain a sanction for a railway overbridge, the project remained incomplete because of lack of political will.
Major demands of the people of the segment include realization of Dugarajapatnam Port and railway line between Gudur and Dugarajapatnam.
