VISHAKHAPATNAM: The Anakapalli Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh has transformed into a cauldron of political fervor as the 2024 elections process is currently under way.
With prominent leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari actively campaigning for their respective candidates, the political landscape is seeing hectic activity.
Nitin Gadkari has already rallied supporters in Anakapalli, setting the stage for further political showdowns. Notable figures like Pawan Kalyan, Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy have also thrown their weight behind their candidates, adding to the intensity of the electoral battle.
The allure of the elections has attracted celebrities like Jabardasth actors and heroine Khushbu, who are lending their support to CM Ramesh, amplifying the excitement surrounding the constituency.
This parliamentary constituency, comprising seven assembly segments, has had a significant voter turnout and has historically been a battleground between the Congress, TD and YSRC.
In the 2019 elections, Beesetti Venkata Satyavathi from the YSRC won the parliamentary seat with a winning margin of 7.2 per cent over Adari Anand Kumar from the TD. The YSRC secured 47.33 per cent of the vote share, while the TD garnered 40.13 per cent.
For the present 2024 elections, the alliance has fielded BJP’s Chintakunta Munuswamy Ramesh, who has been a prominent figure in the state's political landscape. Ramesh, who won his second consecutive Rajya Sabha term in 2018, filed his nomination amid much fanfare and in the presence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The ruling YSRC has chosen Budi Mutyala Naidu as its candidate. Naidu is the current MLA of Madugula constituency, he having won the 2019 elections for the YSRC with 78,830 votes against the TD leader Gavireddy Ramanaidu. He had begun his political journey with the Congress Party, but later aligned with the YSRC and is serving as MLA in Madugula, Visakhapatnam from 2014.
Additionally, for the first time, local and non-local concerns have surfaced in the constituency. According to sources, there's speculation that leveraging this non-local issue could potentially bolster Budi's chances.
The constituency has historically been a battleground between the Congress, TD and YSRC, with the Congress winning it nine times, the TDP five times and the YSRC once -- since 1962.
