Anantapur: With the centre initiating steps to increase the number of Assembly constituencies in the state after bifurcation, political parties have begun making assumptions and preparatory arrangements to mould the situation in their favour during the 2019 general polls.
Many top leaders have been vigilant and are preparing to choose their segments after the number of constituencies is increased.
APCC chief N. Raghuveera Reddy, and then minister of united AP, was forced to give up his native Madakasira after the segment was reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates during the 2009 polls.
Instead, he contested from the Kalyanadurgam constituency, won the seat and served as a minister for five years, until bifurcation. After bifurcation, he chose to contest the Penukonda seat in the 2014 elections, and ended up losing his deposit, while TD candidate B.K. Parthasarathi had cakewalk victory. The APCC chief is now concentrating on his home turf Madakasira again, in the hope that the segment will be under the unreserved category for the 2019 polls.
In Anantapur district, Singanamala and Madakasira have been reserved for SCs. However, sources from the Congress reveal that the APCC chief is hoping for an increase in the number of segments in the state.
“If the number of segments increases, Madakasira Constituency will be split into two. One constituency will remain reserved for SCs, and the other one will be a general constituency,” said a senior leader from Madakasira. Madakasira is one of the biggest constituencies in the state, and in the event of an increase in the number of constituencies, it is highly likely to be split.
Many MLAs who have defected from the YSRC, and some TD leaders are also hoping for an increase in the number of seats. The defected leaders switched allegiances on the basis of promises that they would be allocated constituencies in the next polls. This includes the 7 YSRC MLAs from the Rayalaseema region who have defected to TD over the past year.
Rival factions such as Adinarayana Reddy and Ramasubba Reddy from Jammalamadugu, and the Bhuma Nagireddy group and Silpa Mohan Reddy group from Kurnool, have had to reach a compromise and obey the decisions of the high command.
Sources say that they have been assured that they will be allocated a constituency each after the number of segments in the state increases.
