Tirupati: Women voters are poised to play a pivotal role in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Nellore district. Hence, political parties are pulling out all the stops to woo this critical vote bank.
A key strategy they employ is the deployment of women from the candidates' families for door-to-door campaign, aimed at striking a personal chord with the female voters.
The district boasts over 9.88 lakh female voters, outnumbering their male counterparts by 41,335. This gender skew has spurred parties to actively involve candidates’ wives, daughters, daughters-in-laws, and other women relatives onto the campaign front.
One such example is Somireddy Sruthi Reddy, daughter-in-law of Telugu Desam party's Sarvepalli candidate Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy. Her oratorial skills and campaign videos that went viral on social media have struck a chord with voters, giving Chandramohan’s campaign a much-needed boost in his battle against arch-rival and incumbent MLA Kakani Govardhan Reddy.
Similarly, Neelima Reddy, daughter of Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy, TD's Kovur candidate, and Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, the party's Nellore Lok Sabha candidate, is campaigning extensively in various villages, seeking votes for her parents' victory.
In Nellore City, Ponguru Sindhoori and Sharani are actively campaigning for their father P Narayana, the TD candidate, through door-to-door visits and interactions with voters.
Likewise, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, the rural segment candidate from the same party, is trying to gain the women's vote with the support of his wife Sujitha and daughters Lakshmi Haindhavi and Sai Vaishnavi.
The trend, however, is not limited to any single party. The YSRC’s Sarvepalli candidate Kakani Govardhan Reddy has his daughter K Pujitha actively canvassing for his re-election. Nellore Lok Sabha YSRC contender V Vijayasai Reddy has also enlisted the support of his wife Sunanda Reddy in his tough battle against TD candidate Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy.
"Involving family, especially women, isn't new but this has renewed importance in this election. Earlier, it was mostly the Left parties doing this," noted Dr Ramana Murthy, a political analyst, adding, "But now, with winning being a litmus test for Telugu Desam and YSRC, candidates have roped in their wives, daughters and even granddaughters from abroad into the campaigning."
Except for one or two constituencies in the district, most candidates have roped in women family members for campaigning. These women relatives can be seen making appeals to female voters to vote for their kin in the electoral fray. Despite their lack of familiarity with local issues or the names of villages, they are campaigning door-to-door in sweltering heat, meeting voters, establishing personal connections and seeking support.
